On november 21st, Daniel Fink, my US partner and fellow Oaktable member, will be giving a presentation about his data recovery experiences at the RMOUG Quarterly Educational Workshop.
Dan has helped out several US based companies in some very complex recovery scenarios, where a data unloader like DUDE was the only option left.

Abstract :
Never a DUL Moment: How to Avoid Costly Data Recovery
Dan Fink

One of the worst situations is when you have a database in need of recovery...and find that you don't have a usable backup. One option is to use a Data Unloader (DUL), a costly tool/service that is able to extract data from a down and unusable database. However, the best option is to avoid this situation completely through recovery testing, database refreshes, and proper security. This presentation focuses on common reasons for data recovery (worst practices) and how to avoid them (best practices).

You'll find more info at the RMOUG website (www.rmoug.org) and here is an overview of the agenda, which looks very promising with speakers like Steven Feuerstein and Tim Gorman.