AUTHOR=Karimpour Kamellia , Brenner Rhiannon J. , Dong Grant Z. , Cleve Jayne , Martina Stefanie , Harris Catherine , Graf Gabriel J. , Kistler Benjamin J. , Hoang Andrew H. , Jackson Olivia , Papadopoulou Virginie , Tillmans Frauke TITLE=Comparison of Newer Hand-Held Ultrasound Devices for Post-Dive Venous gas Emboli Quantification to Standard Echocardiography JOURNAL=Frontiers in Physiology VOLUME=13 YEAR=2022 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/physiology/articles/10.3389/fphys.2022.907651 DOI=10.3389/fphys.2022.907651 ISSN=1664-042X 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.