Patent ID: 7474981

Claim:
A method for predicting risks of decompression sickness, comprising: providing a mathematical model that models gas exchange of a central compartment with an environment having a model gas at a modeled environmental pressure (P e ), said central compartment modeled to be in direct fluid communication with a plurality of peripheral compartments and with said environment to exchange said model gas therewith, said model comprising a plurality of prescribed parameters such that a pressure of said model gas in each one of said compartments can be calculated using said model; and for a period of exposure of a person to a breathing mixture comprising an inert gas, obtaining an ambient pressure (P a ) of said breathing mixture during said period; determining an ambient partial pressure (P a,n ) of said inert gas in said breathing mixture during said period; calculating a pressure (P cc ) of said model gas in said central compartment, using said model with P e =P a,n ; calculating a risk of decompression sickness to said person after exposure to said breathing mixture for said period, from P a , P a,n and P cc , wherein values of said prescribed parameters are calibrated so that said risk of decompression sickness is representative of actual risk of decompression sickness to said person after said exposure; deriving information related to decompression from said risk of decompression sickness; and outputting said information related to decompression.