Peter Germonpré1, Virginie Papadopoulou2, Walter Hemelryck3, Georges Obeid4, Pierre Lafère5, Robert J Eckersley6, Meng-Xing Tang7, Costantino Balestra8. 1. Divers Alert Network Europe, Roseto, Italy and Brussels, Centre for Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, Military Hospital Brussels, Belgium, Phone: +32-(0)2-264-4868, Fax: +32-(0)2-264-4861, E-mail: peter.germonpre@mil.be. 2. Biophysiology and Environmental Physiology Laboratory, Haute Ecole Paul Henri Spaak, University of Brussels, Belgium, Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, UK. 3. Centre for Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, Military Hospital, Brussels, Belgium. 4. Department of Cardiology, Military Hospital, Brussels, Belgium. 5. Divers Alert Network Europe, Roseto, Italy and Brussels, Belgium, Department of Anesthesiology and Hyperbaric Medicine, Hôpital de la Cavale Blanche, Brest, France. 6. Biomedical Engineering Department, Division of Imaging Sciences, King's College London, UK. 7. Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, UK. 8. Divers Alert Network Europe, Roseto, Italy and Brussels, Belgium, Biophysiology and Environmental Physiology Laboratory, Haute Ecole Paul Henri Spaak, University of Brussels, Belgium.
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: 'Decompression stress' is commonly evaluated by scoring circulating bubble numbers post dive using Doppler or cardiac echography. This information may be used to develop safer decompression algorithms, assuming that the lower the numbers of venous gas emboli (VGE) observed post dive, the lower the statistical risk of decompression sickness (DCS). Current echocardiographic evaluation of VGE, using the Eftedal and Brubakk method, has some disadvantages as it is less well suited for large-scale evaluation of recreational diving profiles. We propose and validate a new 'frame-based' VGE-counting method which offers a continuous scale of measurement. METHODS: Nine 'raters' of varying familiarity with echocardiography were asked to grade 20 echocardiograph recordings using both the Eftedal and Brubakk grading and the new 'frame-based' counting method. They were also asked to count the number of bubbles in 50 still-frame images, some of which were randomly repeated. A Wilcoxon Spearman ρ calculation was used to assess test-retest reliability of each rater for the repeated still frames. For the video images, weighted kappa statistics, with linear and quadratic weightings, were calculated to measure agreement between raters for the Eftedal and Brubakk method. Bland-Altman plots and intra-class correlation coefficients were used to measure agreement between raters for the frame-based counting method. RESULTS: Frame-based counting showed a better inter-rater agreement than the Eftedal and Brubakk grading, even with relatively inexperienced assessors, and has good intra- and inter-rater reliability. CONCLUSION: Frame-based bubble counting could be used to evaluate post-dive decompression stress, and offers possibilities for computer-automated algorithms to allow near-real-time counting.
INTRODUCTION: 'Decompression stress' is commonly evaluated by scoring circulating bubble numbers post dive using Doppler or cardiac echography. This information may be used to develop safer decompression algorithms, assuming that the lower the numbers of venous gas emboli (VGE) observed post dive, the lower the statistical risk of decompression sickness (DCS). Current echocardiographic evaluation of VGE, using the Eftedal and Brubakk method, has some disadvantages as it is less well suited for large-scale evaluation of recreational diving profiles. We propose and validate a new 'frame-based' VGE-counting method which offers a continuous scale of measurement. METHODS: Nine 'raters' of varying familiarity with echocardiography were asked to grade 20 echocardiograph recordings using both the Eftedal and Brubakk grading and the new 'frame-based' counting method. They were also asked to count the number of bubbles in 50 still-frame images, some of which were randomly repeated. A Wilcoxon Spearman ρ calculation was used to assess test-retest reliability of each rater for the repeated still frames. For the video images, weighted kappa statistics, with linear and quadratic weightings, were calculated to measure agreement between raters for the Eftedal and Brubakk method. Bland-Altman plots and intra-class correlation coefficients were used to measure agreement between raters for the frame-based counting method. RESULTS: Frame-based counting showed a better inter-rater agreement than the Eftedal and Brubakk grading, even with relatively inexperienced assessors, and has good intra- and inter-rater reliability. CONCLUSION: Frame-based bubble counting could be used to evaluate post-dive decompression stress, and offers possibilities for computer-automated algorithms to allow near-real-time counting.
Entities:
Keywords:
Doppler; Echocardiography; arterial gas embolism; bubbles; decompression sickness; diving research; risk assessment; venous gas embolism
Authors: V Papadopoulou; P Germonpré; D Cosgrove; R J Eckersley; P A Dayton; G Obeid; A Boutros; M-X Tang; S Theunissen; C Balestra Journal: Eur J Appl Physiol Date: 2018-04-03 Impact factor: 3.078
Authors: Erica P McCune; David Q Le; Peter Lindholm; Kathryn R Nightingale; Paul A Dayton; Virginie Papadopoulou Journal: Diving Hyperb Med Date: 2022-06-30 Impact factor: 1.228
Authors: Kate Lambrechts; Peter Germonpré; Joaquim Vandenheede; Manon Delorme; Pierre Lafère; Costantino Balestra Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2022-04-29 Impact factor: 4.614
Authors: Yara Bernaldo de Quirós; Andreas Møllerløkken; Marianne B Havnes; Alf O Brubakk; Oscar González-Díaz; Antonio Fernández Journal: Front Physiol Date: 2016-07-21 Impact factor: 4.566
Authors: Costantino Balestra; Sigrid Theunissen; Virginie Papadopoulou; Cedric Le Mener; Peter Germonpré; François Guerrero; Pierre Lafère Journal: Front Physiol Date: 2016-11-30 Impact factor: 4.566
Authors: Andreas Fichtner; Benedikt P Brunner; Thomas Pohl; Thomas Grab; Tobias Fieback; Thea Koch Journal: Intern Emerg Med Date: 2021-07-09 Impact factor: 3.397