The consequences of misinterpreting dive computers: three case studies

Three cases are presented where there is a direct link between how the divers used their dive computers and the eventual requirement for their therapeutic recompression. The first case involves a diver with a previous history of decompression incidents making adjustments to their dive computer without understanding the outcomes of those alterations. The second case involves two divers running out of air and surfacing having missed significant amounts of decompression, caused by the dive computer not reducing their decompression obligation in actual time. This effect and performance differences between three models of computers were demonstrated in subsequent compression chamber trials reported here. The final case involves a diver who completed their dive within the indicated limits of their dive computer but subsequently developed serious neurological decompression sickness that left severe permanent residua. Compression chamber trials suggested that a combination of poor measurement accuracy and outdated decompression management in the computer used could have contributed to the diver's eventual poor outcome.