Posted by John Walker on May 04, 2001 at 15:11:24:
Steve and Frank, I have to disagree with you guys on the fact that their is NO WAY a computor with even the most advanced technology can calculate multitude of a divers physiological factors, whether it incorporates Buhlmann, RGBM, PAUDA, DCIEM, VPM of what ever algorithm.
Dive computors have absolutly no idea what a divers:
Metebolic rate is due to the variable workloads, waer temperature, or even diet.
Hemoglobin disassociation from Oxygen or CO2
Physiological compromises such as pulmonary shunting and Patent Foreman Ovale, which possibly as many as 30% of our population has at some degree.
Lung perfusion/defusion due to imflamation or residual scare tissue
Vasal constriction due to elevated O2 when workload is increased, thermal conditions, and even the mamalian effect.
Vasal dialation due to elevated CO2 when workload picks up, under performing breathing equipment, thermal conditions and the sludging of blood due to the fact that dialated vessels loose fluids.
Auto emmune system which causes adhesion to bubbles, inflames tissue.
Hydration changes with diet, medications, alcohol consumption, dialation, and the blood Ph drods making an acidic mess, inflaming everything.
Age. How many dive computors alow you to change something so simple as your age. The body changes throughout our lifes. Many of these changes can predispose a diver to DCI.
Folowing the commands that a dive computor spits out gives divers a false sense of security.
Pay close attention to your body. That little bit of fatique or lathargia may not be from lugging your gear to and from the boat. The reduction in your cognative ability that you may experience at the dinner table following a day of diving might not be because you have a ton of *hit on your mind. And it goes on.
Divers need to be aware that decompression models were theoretical extrapulations derived from other humans who know nothing about your own physiology.
Dive computors are designed to make people wealthy. And I'm not refering to the consumer. They are expensive underwater calculators and need to be treated as just that.
The term I once heard keeps comming to mind. Thats "computor narcosis". This is when you believ what the computor is telling you.
Use a computors as if they exist ina large grey hallway. Make modifications to protect yourself. And by the way, this has nothing to do with the acronyms Frank keeps throwing out.
John