Surgery – Respiratory method or device – Means for supplying respiratory gas under positive pressure
Patent
1996-05-30
1998-09-15
Yu, Mickey
Surgery
Respiratory method or device
Means for supplying respiratory gas under positive pressure
12820127, 12820523, 12820418, A61M 1600
Patent
active
058065148
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
This application is a 371 of PCT/EP94/02895 filed Aug. 31, 1994,
The present invention relates to a device for and a method of dive monitoring, wherein the diver uses a breathing apparatus. Such a breathing apparatus commonly consists of one or two metal flasks which are disposed, for instance, on the diver.multidot.s back and which contain a highly compressed oxygen/gas mixture, which will be briefly referred to as "air" in the following, at a pressure of up to 350 bar, for instance. The breathing air is supplied to the diver by means of hoses via appropriate reducing valves.
As the water depth increases the higher becomes the hydrostatic water pressure, which acts upon the diver, with the result that the body tissue absorbs an elevated quantity of inert gases, particularly nitrogen. In order to prevent an excessively rapid release of these gases by the time of surfacing, which may lead to lasting injuries to health and even to death, divers rising to the surface again after a prolonged stay at rather deep underwater levels must make prolonged surfacing pauses in certain depths, which are referred to as so-called decompression stops or decompression halts. General survey of the decompression problems may be Berlin-Heidelberg-New York, ISBN 3-540-52533-5. There the problems involved in decompression and the calculation of the decompression halts as a function of the dive profile are presented on pages 7 to 117.
In order to be able to determine the necessary decompression stops and their duration, as well as the resulting total surfacing time the divers use electronic diving computers nowadays, such as those which are marketed worldwide by Uwatec AG, Hallwil/Switzerland by the designations "Aladin" and "Aladin Pro". The structure of such a computer is described on pages 118 to 136 in Buehlmann's aforementioned book. This diving computer, which the diver wears at his wrist, determine the respective diving depth and the duration of stay, with an indication to the diver of the duration of the overall surfacing time as well as the levels and respective periods of the required decompression stops.
The document WO92/06889 discloses a device for monitoring a mobile breathing apparatus, wherein the air pressure prevailing in the diving flask is detected and the data is transferred to a computing means. The computing means determines firstly the time for which presumably the air supply will still be sufficient, and compares this time against the total time which is required for surfacing, inclusive of the decompression halts. The so-called remaining air time is then derived from these two time values, i.e. the time which the diver may still stay at the respective diving depth level before he commences to rise to the surface again.
The known diving computers have been designed predominantly for skin divers. If professional divers use such equipment, who work under water and who have to perform salvage, rescue or repair work, for instance, the decompression halts determined by the known equipment may be too short for enabling the diver to surface safely.
The present invention is therefore based on the problem of providing a device for and a method of dive monitoring, which are suitable for application also when the diver performs work under water.
In accordance with the present invention, this problem is solved by a device according to claim 1.
The inventive method is the subject matter of claim 14.
Improvements of the invention, which are to be preferred, are the subject matters of the dependent claims.
The inventive device or the inventive method make it possible to calculate the decompression halts, the total surfacing time and the remaining air time with a precision which is substantially better than this had been possible before.
When a diver performs underwater work the blood circulation in the body is intensified, particularly in the muscles performing the work. As a result, the tissue absorbs a quantity of inert gas in the same unit time, which is greater than in the case where the diver stays under water with
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Mock Markus
Vollm Ernst
Deane, Jr. William J.
Rauchfuss, Jr. George W.
UWATEC AG
Yu Mickey
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