Under the Pole Expeditions, Concarneau, France.
Laboratoire ORPHY, EA 4324, Université de Bretagne Occidentale, Brest, France.
Int Marit Health. 2023;74(1):36-44. doi: 10.5603/IMH.2023.0004.
Scientific underwater exploration could benefit from professional diving facilities. This could allow marine research for durations far exceeding anything currently possible. The closed-circuit rebreather expansion provides new perspectives by unleashing divers and their diving bell. "Under the Pole Expeditions" developed an innovative compact underwater habitat for this purpose.
The habitat's depth was fixed at 20 m. Saturation lasted 3 days and was followed by a 245 min long decompression procedure with mandatory in-water phase. Isolation and environmental constraints will require specific medical and safety procedures. "In situ" medical concerns were considered, and a specific evacuation plan was established. This report describes the medical management of this atypical project and the systematic clinical follow-up mostly targeted on the cardiovascular system, fatigue and psychological tolerance.
Seventeen individual saturation exposures were performed. All selected divers were professional. Neither severe illness nor decompression sickness was observed. These short-term saturation exposures appeared to be well tolerated. There was a relatively low bubble grade after decompression. Psychological tolerance appeared good. However, a transient moderate orthostatic hypotension suggested cardiovascular deconditioning after dive.
This first experiment demonstrates the interest and feasibility of a shallow revisited saturation dive with rebreather use. This isolation requires medical accompaniment and rigorous preparation. Medical and physiological risks assessment is essential in this context and must be consolidated by new experiences.
科学水下探索可以受益于专业潜水设施。这可以让海洋研究的持续时间远远超过目前的任何可能。闭路呼吸器的扩展通过释放潜水员和他们的潜水钟提供了新的视角。“极地探险”为此目的开发了一种创新的紧凑型水下栖息地。
栖息地的深度固定在 20 米。饱和期持续 3 天，然后进行 245 分钟的减压程序，强制性的水中阶段。隔离和环境限制将需要特定的医疗和安全程序。“原位”医疗问题得到了考虑，并制定了特定的撤离计划。本报告描述了该非典型项目的医疗管理以及对心血管系统、疲劳和心理耐受度的系统临床随访。
进行了 17 次个体饱和暴露。所有选定的潜水员都是专业的。既没有严重疾病也没有减压病。这些短期饱和暴露似乎耐受性良好。减压后气泡等级相对较低。心理耐受度似乎良好。然而，潜水后短暂的中度直立性低血压表明心血管适应不良。
这项首次实验证明了使用再呼吸器进行浅 revisit 饱和潜水的兴趣和可行性。这种隔离需要医疗陪伴和严格的准备。在这种情况下，必须对医疗和生理风险进行评估，并通过新的经验加以巩固。
