The new Prince Of Wales Hyperbaric Facility has arrived at Fink Engineering for fit-out and testing before transport to Sydney for installation. News crews were on hand to witness the load in.

Construction of the world's largest Rectangular Hyperbaric Facility by Fink Engineering (FE) is well underway for the Prince of Wales Hospital in Randwick, NSW, Australia. The new facility will replace the existing cylindrical chamber that has been operational for the past 40+ years and for the last decade or so under the capable leadership of Dr. Mike Bennett and his talented team. The new innovative chamber will have four compartments and be capable of seating 30 people and hence has been designated Fink's QL-30 (quadruple lock 30 person chamber). One of the large compartments will be used for the routine treatment of intensive care patients and the other large compartment for the routine wound care. A smaller entrance compartment will provide access to each of the above locks and the smallest end compartment will be rated for 6 ATA for treatment of decompression illness and for training.

FE is also providing the supporting plant and equipment to power the chamber including the compressors, filters, piping, deluge and sanitary systems. The chamber will be operated from a central control panel which will utilise Fink's innovative intuitive software to pressurise and depressurise each of the locks via touch screen and Fink's proven whisper quiet hardware. Wireless communications, audio/visual entertainment, quiet and effective environmental control, modern toilet facilities and other user friendly support systems developed by FE over the past decade will be incorporated into the new chamber to make it efficient and comfortable for both patients, nurses, physicians and operators.

Fink Engineering completed installation and commissioning of Aurora's new 25 person Rectangular Hyperbaric facility at St. Luke's Hospital in Milwaukee earlier this year which has turned out arguably to be the most architecturally splendid hyperbaric installation in the world. Aurora undertook a complete building renovation to house the new triple lock chamber with spacious facilities for patient reception, large changing areas, six dedicated wound care rooms and four ICU cubicles for critical care patients.

The new TL24 will take over from the Bonnie and Clyde (chambers) that have been the mainstay of St. Luke's hyperbaric expertise for many years.

The Mayo Clinic's new TL24 was successfully installed and commissioned in March of last year and is now well underway to becoming one of the nations most successful units. This chamber was the first triple lock to be commissioned by FE in the USA and also has a hypobaric capability which the Mayo has taken full advantage of by conducting a number of test 'flights' to 43,000 ft for manned testing of a new aviators mask.

Dr. Lindell Weaver's new DL8 is installed in Salt Lake City and was available for all to see at the June meeting of UHMS last year. It is now well established at the Intermountain Medical Center and amongst its many attributes has been used to simulate a 7.2 ATA treatment in a Sechrist Monoplace as shown in the photo. The new 4 ATA rated DL8 also has a 30,000 ft hypobaric capability making it very versatile for future research. Complete with large 4 foot wide doors, the DL8 accommodates trolleys for both ICU patients as well as routine elective patients. Both locks are fitted with sinks and the Entrance Lock with a toilet as well.

The facility was successfully accredited by the UHMS this year and continues to provide a very needed HBOT capability in the region not only with its new DL8 but also with their traditional group of Sechrist Monoplace chambers.

Click here to read a Pdf arcticle about the new facility from the "Deseret News" or here to go to the newspaper's website.

San Antonio's new Fink DL8 continues to operate successfully at Wilford Hall Medical Centre located in San Antonio, Texas just a kilometre or so away from the Brooks facility that this chamber has now replaced. It is being used for wound care of return soldiers resulting from the USA's foreign excursions. This double lock chamber is one of Fink's standard designs and is internally outfitted to handle 6 patients. It is equipped with toilet facilities in the Entrance lock and is rated for 6 ATA.