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Karimpour K, Brenner RJ, Dong GZ, Cleve J, Martina S, Harris C, Graf GJ, Kistler BJ, Hoang AH, Jackson O, Papadopoulou V, Tillmans F. Comparison of Newer Hand-Held Ultrasound Devices for Post-Dive Venous gas Emboli Quantification to Standard Echocardiography. Front Physiol 2022; 13:907651. [PMID: 35755430 PMCID: PMC9222333 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2022.907651] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2022] [Accepted: 05/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Decompression sickness (DCS) can result from the growth of bubbles in tissues and blood during or after a reduction in ambient pressure, for example in scuba divers, compressed air workers or astronauts. In scuba diving research, post-dive bubbles are detectable in the venous circulation using ultrasound. These venous gas emboli (VGE) are a marker of decompression stress, and larger amounts of VGE are associated with an increased probability of DCS. VGE are often observed for hours post-dive and differences in their evolution over time have been reported between individuals, but also for the same individual, undergoing a same controlled exposure. Thus, there is a need for small, portable devices with long battery lives to obtain more ultrasonic data in the field to better assess this inter- and intra-subject variability. We compared two new handheld ultrasound devices against a standard device that is currently used to monitor post-dive VGE in the field. We conclude that neither device is currently an adequate replacement for research studies where precise VGE grading is necessary.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kamellia Karimpour
- Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
| | | | | | - Jayne Cleve
- Divers Alert Network, Durham, NC, United States
| | | | | | | | | | - Andrew H Hoang
- Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
| | | | - Virginie Papadopoulou
- Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
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