Duke Dive Medicine

04/23/2022

An article about some research, done here at Duke Hyperbarics, to create a safety device to save the lives of rebreather divers everywhere.

"When you work in a community as small as ours, each death sends out ripples, and Dewey’s premature demise made waves."

But when you work in a community as small as ours, each death sends out ripples, and Dewey’s premature demise made waves.

12/14/2021

Have you or someone you know worn a full face snorkel mask (FFSM)? If so, you won't want to miss our live webinar this Thursday at 6PM ET!

Follow the link here:
https://dan.org/events/full-face-snorkel-masks/
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Full face masks have exploded in popularity. At first these products were made by a small number of reputable manufacturers, but there is now a broad spectrum of designs of varying quality and no regulation of testing or function. Despite their prevalence, few formal studies have assessed these devices.

In this webinar, scientists from the University Center for Hyperbaric Medicine & Environmental Physiology will present their recent experimental work assessing a selection of . This work concluded that many FFSMs do not work as advertised and some have design features that may even increase risk to the .

12/01/2021

Duke's "Golf" chamber features in the latest fundraising advertisements for Divers Alert Network! This chamber is now used for equipment tests and other "uncrewed" research, but in the past it has trapped multiple humans inside its tiny blue sphere for up to a month at a time for saturation diving research.

DAN is one of our friends and frequent partners in our efforts to make the ocean safer for humans. If you are feeling generous, here's the link:
https://dan.org/about-dan/donate/

10/20/2021

Duke's own Rachel Lance will be presenting some of her research about the Civil War submarine HL Hunley, courtesy of the Smithsonian Institute, on a small screen near you this Wednesday!

While this specific talk won't be about Duke's hyperbaric chambers, Lance debunked the popular "suffocation" theory to explain the submarine's sinking by using insight gained from working at Duke Diving, and both the chambers and their personnel feature in her book about the submarine.

Find out how Dr. Rachel Lance unraveled one of the Civil War's great mysteries—what sunk the HL Hunley—and learn the stories of its victims.

07/04/2021

We're excited to have hosted the crew of the SpaceX at our chambers for their altitude hypoxia training!

“Altitude chamber training: ✅ Thanks to for hosting our crew and the team at the Duke Hyperbaric Medicine Clinic in Durham, North Carolina today!”

06/16/2021

Enterprising Duke students Dominic Tanzillo and Nick Saba have harnessed the resources on campus to create a free, online course about medicine in space!

The Duke chambers also scored a minor cameo in the section about the body's responses to pressure.

DURHAM, N.C. (WNCN) – You won’t be able to take all kinds of medical specialists into space. As man replaces machine, the journey to Mars, which can take up to eight months, and time on…

05/24/2021

Working inside hyperbaric chambers requires specialized tools and equipment, which means we often make things onsite. The sub-basement level beneath the Duke chamber is actually a machine shop!

Here, a 3-D printer at Duke Innovation Co-Lab is printing a cuff to screw around the pole of an IV drug pump, so that the pumps can be enclosed inside a plastic bag filled with nitrogen so they can be used safely inside the chambers while the chambers are pressurized.

04/11/2021

Snorkeling isn't technically diving, but we occasionally make exceptions for interesting science!

A number of unexplained deaths while using full-face snorkel masks ("FFSMs") has led to some Hawaiian snorkel tour operators banning them. We've instrumented a randomly selected smattering of models and sizes to see if there's a clear cause for the accidents, or if they may have been unrelated to the gear.

07/12/2019

Hello divers and triathletes, we wanted to provide an update on some of the Swimming Induced / Immersion Pulmonary Oedema (SIPE / IPE) research being conducted at the Duke Center for Hyperbaric Medicine and Environmental Physiology.

Dr. Moon is moving into the next step of his research with the goal of developing a treatment and possibly even prophylaxis for SIPE / IPE. He is looking for study subjects ages 18-45 who have had at least one incident in the past and have no underlying cardiac disease. Below is an article with more information and Dr. Moon's contact information.

https://researchoutreach.org/articles/sildenafil-the-pulmonary-oedema-wonder-drug/

Please don't hesitate to reach out via phone if you have any questions.

Dr Richard Moon and his team at the Duke University School of Medicine explore the use of sildenafil – better known by its more common brand name, Vi**ra – to prevent the [...]Read More...

12/13/2018

HEALTHY, PHYSICALLY FIT NON-SMOKING MALES AGED
18-40 MAY BE ELIGIBLE TO PARTICIPATE IN AN ALTITUDE RESEARCH STUDY

Doctors at Duke are studying the effects of altitude on genes.
You may be eligible to participate if you:

• In the last 5 years you have made 3 or more ascents to altitudes exceeding 5000 m (16,400 ft), spending at least 2-3 weeks

OR

• Are between the ages of 18 and 40 years, non-smoker
• Are physically fit
• Match the characteristics of mountaineers who we are also studying

The research study requires:
• A screening visit that includes blood samples and an exercise test
• 6 days in total, 3 in an altitude chamber
• Blood samples
• Muscle biopsies

You will be compensated for participation in the study

Call Mike Natoli at 919-668-0017 for more information or e-mail: michael.natoli@duke.edu

Pro00039689 Version 11/7/18

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