Did you see on the news last night, 6/29/09 CBS, about repairing damaged heart tissue by using the patients own heart stem cells. I googled immediately about other organ research using this method, and they are, including lungs. Already been done on mice.
Smoking or intense exposures to the smoke from burning bio-mass fuels, especially in impoverished countries, has just about everything to do with emphysema. Emphysema is a destructive disease. It destroys lung tissue and, thus far no methods have been devised to re-grow lung tissue. Gene therapy has potential, not to recreate lung tissue but to reduce the airway inflammation that results in emphysema, be it smoking-induced or other. Research is underway on gene therapy but the results thus far have been very disappointing.
The adaptation to chronic residence at high altitude has been studied extensively. You are correct in stating that bigger lungs have nothing to do with it and that has been well known for nearly 100 years. Hyperventilation is one of the main mechanisms the body employs to address hypoxia. The 2 basic blood adaptations, to sustained hypoxia, to improve oxygen transport to tissues are: 1) an increased oxygen-carrying capacity from an increase in the number of red blood cells; and 2) an altered affinity of hemoglobin for the oxygen molecule, that facilitates increased transfer from blood to tissues.
Implantation of an oxygen concentrator in the lungs is not feasible and may never be even with nanotechnology, given the serious inherent problems associated with the placement of a foreign body in the human body. The current provision of supplemental oxygen from an external source is easy, safe and increasingly more convenient. One would have to ask why anyone would want to place a concentrator inside the body when lightweight, less than 10 pounds, portable, battery-driven (2 batteries lasting 8 hours) concentrators are already commercially available.
A related discussion,
various research avenues was started.
A related discussion,
what determines COPD? was started.
I have spoken to a number of molecular genetics and bio-tech people on this subject. one being my son, that's how I know so many of them. I'm told, as of now anyways, that the most feasible would be to isolate the gene that enables the hemoglobin to utilize O2 better in tissues. As far as the nano-tech aspect, much more futuristic but sometimes things just happen, these would not be anything like an oxygen concentrators that we have now. It would be a tiny machine like structure. I like talking to hard science people as their imaginations take them places most M.D.'s dare not go! As far as why would I or anybody even suggest such things, I can only say that they have never walked around a mall with a tank/concentrator and nose hose on. That's what keeps most of them at home. As for myself I only use O2 at night but if I did need it 24/7 I would go out regardless. Just thinking to the future.