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Vital issues in computing decompression schedules from fundamentals

I. Critical Supersaturation Versus Phase Equilibration

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Abstract

A general review has been made of the vital issues which must be answered before any equation for predicting the occurrence of decompression sickness can be derived from fundamental physical and physiological experience. The evidence for the presence of a gas phase during a decompression which proves asymptomatic is discussed in detail. This queries the basic assumption inherent in calculation methods underlying the standard diving tables that there is a critical limit to the true supersaturation of a tissue by gas beyond which cavitation occurs. The evidence would seem more compatible with the formation of this gas phase for a much lower degree of supersaturation, if any, its presence not becoming manifest as symptoms during decompression provided its relative volume is not permitted to exceed a pain-provoking threshold.

Zusammenfassung

Dies ist eine Übersicht über die vitalen Faktoren, die bekannt sein müssen, ehe eine Gleichung zur Voraussage des Auftretens der Dekompressionskrankheit aus den Grundlagen der physikalischen und physiologischen Erfahrung abgeleitet werden kann. Der Beweis für das Vorliegen einer Gasphase während einer symptomfreien Dekompression wird eingehend beschrieben. Danach wird die Annahme in Frage gestellt, auf der alle Berechnungsmethoden der Standard-Tauchtabellen beruhen, dass eine kritische Grenze für wahre Übersättigung der Gewebe für Gas bestehe, oberhalb der Kavitation auftrete. Die Beweise scheinen mehr dafür zu sprechen, dass die Bildung dieser Gasphase bei viel niedrigeren Graden Übersättigung auftritt. Ihre Anwesenheit während der Dekompression wird jedoch nicht durch Symptome manifest, solange das relative Volumen eine schmerzprovozierende Schwelle nicht überschreitet.

Resume

Il s'agit ici de l'étude comparative des facteurs vitaux qui doivent être connus avant qu'une équation puisse être établie, équation permettant de prévoir l'apparition des affections dues à la décompression. Cette équation devra tenir compte des expériences faites tant sur le plan physique que physiologique. On décrit en détails les preuves apportées pour soutenir l'hypothèse qu'une phase gazeuse se produit même lors d'un état de décompression exempt de symptômes pathologiques. Par là, on met en doute la supposition sur laquelle reposent toutes les méthodes de calcul des tables standard de plongée, à savoir qu'il y a une valeur limite critique pour une véritable sursaturation des tissus par les gaz. Cette limite serait située au-dessus de la cavitation. Les preuves apportées semblent bien plus postuler que la formation de cette phase gazeuse se produit par des degrés bien inférieurs de sursaturation. Sa présence durant la décompression ne se manifeste pas par des symptômes typiques pour autant que son volume relatif ne dépasse pas un seuil provoquant la douleur.

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  1. Department of Surgery, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, USA

    B. A. Hills

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Hills, B.A. Vital issues in computing decompression schedules from fundamentals. Int J Biometeorol 14, 111–131 (1970). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01440958

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