Posted by fred on January 11, 2001 at 18:20:57:
WATCH COULD CURE THE BENDS
http://www1.sky.com/news/health/story4.htm
Every scuba diver's worst nightmare - 'the bends' - could soon become a thing of the past thanks to a new invention.
A watch is being pioneered in Scotland that could warn divers they have dangerous levels of nitrogen in their body before they surface.
The watch monitors the amount of air dissolved in divers' blood, warning them to surface more slowly if it is approaching danger level, research published in the New Scientist magazine revealed.
Dangerous bubbles
Dissolved gas accumulates in the body the longer divers stay underwater, so they need to allow more time for it to be expelled as the pressure of surrounding water falls as they surface.
Divers tend to rely on their own calculations to keep levels in their blood within safe limits. The bends, also known as decompression sickness, occur when they comes up too fast and nitrogen forms dangerous bubbles within the body.
Symptoms can vary from harmless skin rashes to paralysis, or even death. If a diver has an attack of the bends, the only treatment is to use a decompression chamber on the surface, a lengthy and expensive process.
Sound waves
Ken Forbes, from Heriot-Watt University who is helping develop the wristwatch said: "We want to totally automate the system. Not too many people die from decompression sickness, but those that get it require a lot of medical support," Forbes said.
With funding from Britain's Health and Safety Executive, the device will beam sound waves into the wearer's wrist.
Software in the watch analyses the reflected signals to calculate the amount of gas in the blood and gives the diver a reading of key factors.