This sketch of the Navy's new Doppler bubble detector shows the projection of 

 sound signals into the pulmonery artery. The quality of the signals reflected 

 back indicates the presence of bubbles. 



detector, a device for early detection of gases coming out of solution 

 from a diver's bloodstream. The instrument is placed on the diver's 

 chest and projects a sound signal into the main artery of the lung. A 

 gas bubble can be detected because it produces a reflected signal 

 different from those produced by blood fluid. With further 

 development of this device, it may be possible to tailor reduced 

 decompression times to individual diver physiological 

 characteristics. NOAA divers have used this detector during the 

 vertical excursion studies mentioned above. 



In another coordinated NOAA/Navy program being pursued at the 

 U.S. Navy's Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, substantial progress is 

 being made in understanding the physiological stresses of long 

 exposure to intense pressure, particularly those involving the little- 

 understood phenomenon of bone degradation (aseptic bone 



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