Prediction of signs/symptoms of decompression sickness following submarine tower escape

Crew survival in a distressed submarine (DISSUB) scenario may be enhanced by the knowledge of the risks of different types of decompression sickness (DCS) should the crew attempt tower escape. Four models were generated through calibration against DCS outcome data from 3,919 pressure exposures, each for the prediction of one of four categories of DCS: neurological, limb pain, respiratory and cutaneous. The calibration data contained details of human, goat, sheep and pig exposures to raised pressure while breathing air or oxygen/nitrogen mixtures. No exposures had substantial staged decompression or cases of suspected pulmonary barotrauma. DCS risk was scaled between species and with body mass. A parameter was introduced to account for the possibility of the occurrence of some symptom types masking others. The calibrated models were used to estimate likelihood of DCS occurrence for each symptom category following submarine tower escape. Escape depth was found to have a marked effect only on predicted rates of neurological DCS. Saturation at raised internal DISSUB pressure prior to escape was found to affect predicted rates of all symptom types. The iso-risk curves presented are offered as guidance to submarine crews and rescue forces in preparation for, or in the event of, a DISSUB scenario.