Positions: Researcher/Senior Consultant, Nordlandssykehuset, and Associate Professor II, Nord University, Bodø, Norway.

Project title: The thromboinflammatory and hemodynamic effects of air emboli and the effects of complement inhibition in a human in vitro whole blood and a in vivo porcine model.

This study elucidates the effects of air emboli on the complement, coagulation, and inflammation cascades using an in vitro human whole blood model and the hemodynamic and inflammatory effects of venous air emboli in an in vivo porcine model.

In vitro, we have examined the effect of air bubbles on the human complement and coagulation systems by incubation of blood or plasma with air bubbles and a combination of selected complement and coagulation system inhibitors and subsequently analyzed for a wide range of activated complement factors, coagulation factors, and cytokines. We have shown that ambient air present in test tubes activates complement and coagulation and that eliminating air from test tubes reduces “background activation” of the cascades.

In vivo, we have studied the effects of air infusion on the hemodynamic and thromboinflammatory systems, emphasizing the detection of air emboli by echocardiography and on the effects of open thorax on transpulmonary air passage.