What's the "deepest" a recompression chamber goes to?

[Jimmer]

I've been doing a little bit of reading about recompression treatment, and it seems that "Table 6" is the standard treatment, which blows the divers down to 60 feet. Are there any situations where the diver would need to be compressed much deeper than that for treatment?

Thanks,
Jim

 

[Gilldiver]

Are you talking about Recompression, Decompression, or how deep of an equivalent pressure some chambers can go?

Properly, Decompression is now used for bring a diver back to surface pressure from an elevated pressure. Commercial and Military saturation systems can go to, or deeper then, 1,000 feet.

Recompression is more what I think you are asking about. This is for treatment of the bends. There are some tables that go to either 160 or 190 feet. But these are very rarely used for non-commercial or military diving.

How deep can a chamber go? It depends on the chamber. Most of the plastic single place tubes are rated for either 60 or 90 feet. Some of the experimental chambers can go to at least 1,500 feet. These experimental chambers will have multi locks and may have a wet pod so that experiments can be done at simulated depth, but only in 6 to 10 feet of water. The City Island, NY chamber is like this but I don't know how deep it can simulate.

 

[Gene_Hobbs]

Hi Jim,

In the US, the USN Treatment Table 6 is the most commonly used DCS and AGE therapy table. There are however many tables and depths used for those treatments available for the Dive Medical Officer.

One publication you might find interesting while on your quest for info is:
Berghage, TE; Vorosmarti Jr, J; Barnard, EEP. (1978) Recompression Treatment Tables Used Throughout the World by Government and Industry. Naval Medical Research Center (NMRC) Technical Report NMRI-78-16. RRR ID: 3414

And Dick Clarke has a nice presentation you can download from National Baromedical Services here.

USN Treatment tables:

1A - Air treatment table (max depth 100 fsw)
2A - Air treatment table (max depth 165 fsw)
3 - Air treatment table (max depth 165 fsw)
4 - Air treatment table (max depth 165 fsw)
5 - Oxygen treatment table (max depth 60 fsw)
6 - Oxygen treatment table (max depth 60 fsw)
6A - Air/ Oxygen treatment table (max depth 165 fsw)
7 - Air treatment table (max depth 60 fsw)
additional treatment tables for clinical HBO use in Navy facilities.

More info on these can be found in the ever valuable USN Diving Manual.

Other tables used in the US less often but still common would be the Catalina Table (Oxygen treatment table - max depth 60 fsw) and the Hawaiian treatment tables:

HTC 280 - Air, Nirtox, and Oxygen treatment table (max depth 280 fsw)
HTC 220 - Air, Nirtox, and Oxygen treatment table (max depth 220 fsw)
HTC 160 - Air, Nirtox, and Oxygen treatment table (max depth 160 fsw)
HTC 60 - Oxygen treatment table (max depth 60 fsw)

More info on the Hawaiian tables can be found:
Smerz, RW; Overlock, RK; Nakayama, H. Hawaiian deep treatments: efficacy and outcomes, 1983-2003. Undersea Hyperb Med. 2005 Sep-Oct;32(5):363-73. RRR ID: 4054

and one of the more interesting pro-con debates with Alf Brubakk and Richard Moon here.

If this is still not enough for you... The are always the Royal Navy and Comex treatment tables to read up on and if you really want to go out on a limb some, our suggested reading for In-water Recompression.

Good luck!


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[tc]

Small correction Gene- Catalina table goes to 165. (Similar to the navy 6A)

We most commonly use 165 for AGE treatments and 60 for DCS treatments.

 

[digital_steve]

My treatments were table 6, so max 18m
I was told about COMEX (sp?) treatments that are at 30m
The chamber i was in was rated to some massive pressure it could dive too, but i think the gauge maxed out at about 70m.