OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to determine the incidence, type, outcome, and possible risk factors of diving accidents in each year of a five year period presenting from one dive centre to a large teaching hospital accident and emergency (A&E) department. METHODS All patients included in this study presented to the A&E department at a local teaching hospital in close proximity to the l...

To determine the aggregation effect of artificial reefs (ARs), we conducted surveys in 16 Taiwan by using scientific echo sounder, Simrad EY-60 (200 KHz), along with sighting scuba divers. Scuba diving was within reef structures (r ¼ 20 m), whereas acoustic were over a wider range 100 five repeating transects ARs. We compared results obtained from two methods among coastal waters to consistency...

Photopic contrast sensitivity of air-breathing scuba divers was measured with a translucent test pattern at depths up to 40 m. The pattern was composed of sine wave gratings with spatial frequency and contrast changing logarithmically. The spatial transfer characteristics were measured at various depths under controlled optical conditions in seawater and in fresh water. Analysis indicates that ...

Scuba diving has become a popular leisure time activity with distinct risks to health owing to its physical characteristics. Knowledge of the behaviour of any mixture of breathable gases under increased ambient pressure is crucial for safe diving and gives clues as to the pathophysiology of compression or decompression related disorders. Immersion in cold water augments cardiac pre- and afterlo...