NAUI Master Scuba Diver 166 Decompression and Recompression on care. A transport chamber which allows space for an inside tender would be a better choice if available. During transport, victims continue to breathe air and therefore continue to onload nitrogen unless their tissues were already saturated at the partial pressure involved, thus compounding decompression obligations. Generally, severely ill divers being transported will benefit more from hands-on care and surface oxygen administration than they will from being in these small chambers. Some lightweight portable chambers, such as the SOS Hyperlite, are set up to pressurize a patient and to provide oxygen therapy during transit (figure 5-18). These chambers are small enough to pass into the treatment chamber through its main hatch, so that the patient can be removed under treatment pressure. Multiplace Double Lock Large chambers with space for many persons and with both inner (occupant) and outer (passageway) compartments/locks can be found at larger hyperbaric medicine facilities. They are usually used for the medical therapy of various conditions. Commonly, these chambers are pressurized with air at lesser pressures; i.e., about 2.4 ata. Patients typically wear oxygen masks or hoods that provide 100% oxygen and that dump their exhaled gases outside the chamber. Tenders in these chambers usually breathe chamber air. Treatment of decompression sickness victims in follow-up therapy would be similar to medical therapy usage at such facilities. As mentioned previously, the 137 cm (54 in) multiplace, double-lock chamber is used in some locations as the treatment chamber for diving injuries. It is often subsidized by government and/or dive operations, staffed by on-call volunteers, and as such, is mainly a public service operation in need of support and income. Some larger facilities have these chambers as a back-up for their larger chambers. Small and large “livable” chambers are used in the commercial diving industry to provide surface decompression and/or habitat spaces for working divers and for recompression of injured divers. Such facilities, if available, could also be used for treatment of recreational diver injuries. However, most commercial companies do not treat recreational divers. Divers seeking information about chamber facilities should be aware of the ever-changing status of availability. Directories of chamber locations exist, but for a variety of reasons, a listed chamber may not be available for treatment of divers at a given time. The Divers Alert Network (DAN) has an emergency hotline telephone number, (919) 684-9111, and can serve as an excellent source of information to assist with diving emergencies requiring recompression. Chamber Operations & Safety Concerns At any chamber there are several tasks during a treatment. The number of actual personnel involved may vary from a few to several, but the tasks fall into the following categories. Operations Personnel Supervisor. This person controls the entire chamber operation, including monitoring compressed gas sources, the integrity of all equipment, chamber pressure and gases, the status of operating personnel, and the status of the treatment subject. The supervisor must be ready to immediately intervene during treatment, if necessary. FIGURE 5-18. SMALL PORTABLE CHAMBER Timekeeper. Treatment schedules are based on
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