“Under Pressure”: Institutions, Science and Civil Society at Sant’Anna School for Safety and Health in Underwater and Hyperbaric Environments
On Wednesday, September 16, the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies will become a common meeting ground for institutions, operational professionals, and the medical-scientific community. The workshop is part of the educational programme of the two-year second-level Master’s Degree in Underwater and Hyperbaric Medicine “Piergiorgio Data”, organized in collaboration with the Institute of Clinical Physiology of the National Research Council (CNR) in Pisa.
Bringing together those who study the effects of extreme environments on the human body, those who work in such environments, those responsible for ensuring safety, and those who use the hyperbaric environment as a therapeutic tool. This is the aim of the workshop “UNDER PRESSURE: From Safety to Prevention in Underwater and Hyperbaric Environments”, scheduled for Wednesday, September 16, starting at 9:00 a.m. in the Historic Main Hall of the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa.
The workshop is part of the educational programme of the two-year second-level University Master’s Degree in Underwater and Hyperbaric Medicine “Piergiorgio Data”, which has been organized for more than twenty years by the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies in collaboration with the Institute of Clinical Physiology of the CNR in Pisa. For one day, the School will become a common meeting place for the underwater and hyperbaric community, where universities, institutions, scientific societies, healthcare professionals, and civil society will share knowledge and experience.
Speakers will include representatives from the Department for Sea Policies of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, the Tuscan Maritime Directorate of the Coast Guard, and the Italian Navy, together with the specialized diving units of the Carabinieri Corps, the State Police, and the National Fire and Rescue Service, as well as the Italian Association of Underwater Contractors.
Alongside the operational and institutional sectors, the medical and scientific community will also play a leading role. Contributions from the Italian Society of Anaesthesia, Analgesia, Resuscitation and Intensive Care (SIAARTI), the Italian Society of Underwater and Hyperbaric Medicine (SIMSI), and the Italian Society for Cardiovascular Research (SIRC) will foster dialogue between underwater medicine, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, anaesthesia, scientific research, prevention, and risk management. Pressure, in fact, is not only an environmental condition that must be understood and managed during diving operations; it is also a therapeutic resource that requires specific medical expertise and rigorous safety standards.
“The Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa confirms its role as a common home for all those concerned with human health and safety in underwater and hyperbaric environments,” emphasizes Professor Vincenzo Lionetti, Professor of Anaesthesiology at the Health Science Interdisciplinary Research Center, Director of the “Piergiorgio Data” Master’s Degree, and President of SIRC. "Recent tragic diving accidents, as well as cases of carbon monoxide poisoning reported in our country, remind us that safety and health protection begin before emergencies arise: with prevention, medical assessment, training, awareness of risk factors, and the application of high safety standards. When emergencies do occur, specialized expertise and appropriate treatment pathways become equally essential, and hyperbaric medicine can play a decisive role.”
It is no coincidence that this discussion is taking place in Pisa. The city has a long-standing scientific and cultural tradition in the study of physiology and medicine related to underwater and hyperbaric environments. Evidence of this is the fact that the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies hosts the International Diving Medical Expert Board (IDMEB), an international organization committed to promoting quality and competency standards in diving medicine.
“The underwater and hyperbaric sectors serve different purposes and operate in different contexts, yet they share scientific knowledge, a culture of prevention, and highly specialized expertise. Bringing together research and medicine, institutions and civil society here in Pisa means placing different skills at the service of a common goal: protecting people. Safety begins with knowledge and prevention,” concludes Lionetti.
Further information about the workshop programme is available at:
