Dr Bausili at the Titan Race
The medical team, Cardiosos, attending the Gaes Titan Desert by Garmin endurance mountain bike race this year had point-of-care ultrasound close at hand to help them deal with injuries and medical emergencies. The race saw over 463 top-level mountain bikers cover 612 kilometres of sand dunes in Morocco over the course of six days.
Dr Marc Bausili, an anaesthetist at the Sant Pau Hospital in Barcelona and a member of the Titan Desert medical team, knew what to expect: “The most frequent injuries were things like ulcerations due to friction and abrasion – dermal and cutaneous injuries from cycling in high temperatures. Then there was a lot of dehydration, fluctuating blood sugar levels, blackouts, fainting fits – the kinds of things that you’d normally expect from this type of race. We knew from our experience of similar events that, with so many participants and the technical requirements of the race, we also had to be prepared for more serious injuries and decided to take an ultrasound device with us.”
Marc uses ultrasound every day in his professional life, as he explained: “Ultrasound devices are really important for guiding analgesia and anaesthesia in operating theatres, as well as for applications such as echocardiography and pulmonary echography in intensive care. For the Titan Desert, we knew we were dealing with professional cyclists from all over the world, and wanted to provide them with the best possible medical service. FUJIFILM SonoSite gave us an Edge® II system to take with us for the race, which allowed us to make quick and accurate diagnoses, and even gave us access to anaesthetic guidance on the course.”
He concluded: “I work regularly with this type of device and the company, and so I am familiar with its features, its portability and robustness, and the qualities of the brand. The company representatives have been a tremendous support and helped to make this a successful project. SonoSite instruments are great when it comes to portability, and I believe that this quality is paramount to this type of race; the portability and robustness alongside such high imaging performance make it a brand that’s hard to compete with.”
Source & Image Credit: Sonosite
