Life Support Systems
The chest plate life support system is based on nanotechology with a back-up system utilizing electromagnets. A central computer that obtains data from sensors attached to the wearer's skin coordinates both systems. In the case of Tony Stark, the computer detected severe cardiac trauma and dispatched nano-bots to the area, plunging into his skin and delivering an appropriate electric shock to ‘jump start’ his heart. The nano-bots constructed two conduits in minutes that went from Stark's heart to the chest plate itself. The conduits allow a continued power feed to the nano-bots. Keep in mind that the nanobot medical aid is only supposed to be use in severe emergencies and only as a ‘quick fix’; as designed, the nanobots should only fix as much as to allow the wearer to seek more permanent medical aid and have the nanobots removed before they become attached permanently to the wearer.
The life support systems also contains an environmental control unit, protecting the wearer from pressures of 130,000' above and 1,800' below sea level and normal atmosphere (14.7 lbs. per square inch), temperatures up to 73 degrees internal (-185 to 2,500 degrees F external).