HAVE AIR-PUMP SEAT, WILL TRAVEL NEW CUSHIONS MAY HELP AIRLINE PASSENGERS' HEALTH.

Byline: Evan Pondel Staff Writer

It's a common occurrence for the most seasoned travelers - an hour or so into a flight, the legs grow heavy and the lower back begins to ache.

While a stroll down the aisle offers minor relief, passengers may soon want to remain seated if Jasco Products Inc. succeeds in revolutionizing the economy class seat.

Beneath the rooftop of an industrial warehouse in the outer limits of Glendale, several tables are filled with plastic tubing and empty air cushions. Joe Sember, a broad-shouldered man, walks down a stairway that leads to the factory floor.

``This is where it all begins,'' he says, his voice muffled by the lunch bell.

It's noon at Jasco. Sember, president of the company his father founded 30 years ago, is preparing for today's presentation to United Airlines. Jasco is pitching the airline its AirWave VasoStimulator, a device that can be installed directly into an airplane seat that improves blood circulation.

The device utilizes several air chambers that, when adjusted by a pump, can ultimately move blood from a passenger's legs up into the upper body. Sember, 51, said the device probably would have helped Cardinal Roger Mahony, who was recently hospitalized for a blood clot upon his return from Rome. Medical officials say they believe the clot, which ended up in his lung, formed in his leg.

Jasco is attempting to reduce ``Economy Class Syndrome,'' a condition known medically as deep vein thrombosis. DVT can occur and is often associated with long-distance travel, according to the company.

Dr. Robert Felton, president of Numotech, a Northridge-based company that specializes in wounds associated with pressure, is familiar with Jasco's technology. He said he can attest to the VasoStimulator's ability to provide superior comfort, although Felton was hesitant about calling it a medical device.

``This is a commercial product,'' he said.

Even so, Jasco is confident that airlines will want to incorporate the technology on most airplanes. Sember said the technology isn't that expensive when you factor in all of the other costs associated with an airplane seat. The device costs around $230 a seat.

Aside from United, Singapore Airlines has ordered a few strap-on VasoStimulators. Sember said the airline doesn't have the device in its possession, although passengers will probably be able to throw a VasoStimulator on their seat in the near future.

Jasco isn't new to the realm of seat cushions. The company has been manufacturing cushions for airplane crews since the 1970s. A small room outside Sember's office contains a shrine of seat cushions.

Joe Sember senior, the 80-year-old founder of the company, points to a seat cushion that was used in Boeing's 700-series of airplanes.

``This is all about the lumbar support,'' said Sember, inflating and deflating the seat cushion. ``This certainly helps the lower backs of the flight crew.''

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Joe Sember Jr., left, and his dad Joe Sember Sr. show off the Jasco Products airplane cushion.

(2 -- color) An air sequencer used in the airplane seat made by Jasco Products pumps air through the airplane seat, massaging legs.

Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer