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Subject: RE: Natural Causes = What Next?
Date: Tue, 23 Feb 1999 00:04:32 -0500
From: Bill Wolk <BillWolk@ea*.ne*>
To: "Paltz, Art" <Art.Paltz@R2*.CO*>, "Bill Mee" <wwm@sa*.ne*>
cc: "cavers" <cavers@cavers.com>
On2/22/99 8:53 AM, Paltz, Art wrote:

>Hi All,
>
>Here's an obvious question.  I'll preface it by saying I really don't
>know much about rebreathers.  The CIS is a fully closed computerized
>system, computer redundant if I'm not mistaken.  If it's computerized
>and monitors O2 by sensor I suppose it does what all other computers on
>the market do, log the dive?  If this is the case, how come I have not
>heard anything about the logs?  I'd assume if there was a problem in the
>rebreather the sensor would show a really low O2 content?  I know the
>CO2 content won't show but would the O2 content shed some light on the
>situation?  Sorry if this has already been thought of....
>
>Thanks,
>Art.

Art -

That is a very interesting question.  Presumably, if Dr. Kendall died of 
natural causes, the log will show zero gas use for some time period 
before the P02 became hypoxic or will show that it did not become hypoxic 
at all because the diver stopped breathing -- using gas -- while it was 
still normoxic or hyperoxic.  (That's assuming the sample rate of the 
computer is frequent enough to catch the hyperoxic episode.)  On the 
other hand, if the log shows a P02 that was too low to sustain life at 
any point during the dive, then the natural causes determination becomes 
very suspect. 

Bill Mee -- assuming hypoxia is the cause of death, wouldn't the body 
show signs of cyanosis -- blue nail beds, lips, skin, etc. -- that are 
detectable by the ME and which wouldn't be present if Dr. Kendall had 
died from other causes?  

Forgive me if my understanding of both the CIS Lunar Mk 5 and post-mortem 
physiology is very cursory, but as Art Paltz put it: this stuff seems 
just too obvious to slip by the local investigators.



Best regards --

Bill

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