Gills for humans! Mask allows for breathing underwater

[Kuda de la Mer]

I'm not sure if anyone else caught this? I would love to use one of these with a tail! The skeptic in me thinks it's too good to be true. :(

http://themindunleashed.org/2014/01/revolutionary-scuba-mask-creates-breathable-oxygen-underwater.html


With the Triton Oxygen Respirator, it might be possible to breathe beneath the surface of the water as if you were a fish. Requiring no bulky tank to keep your lungs pumping properly, this invention of scuba diving equipment is much more ergonomic and organic in design.

[deepblue]

I read a few articles recently on this very prototype and why it isn't yet a feasible concept. Believe me I'd love to have one if it worked.

There's this article which discusses why it won't work: http://deepseanews.com/2014/01/triton-not-dive-or-dive-not-there-is-no-triton/

And this one which expands on what *could* make such a thing work. http://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/student-claims-have-designed-working-artificial-gills-180949465/

I'm very happy this kind of thing is being worked on, but it's not there yet.

[Anahita]

I saw a picture of this a while ago, wasn't 100% sure what it was or what it did. It just said "Artificial Gill" on the photo and that was about it... Now that I see what it is, I definitely think it looks interesting, for sure. And while I'm not particularly skeptical about it working so much, I am a bit skeptical about the technology being convenient in terms of affordability....

And also I wonder if it's safe for freedivers. It might be a PADI certified thing if it ever makes it out to the public.

[deepblue]

It's not safe at all, yet.

[SeaGlass Siren]

Well here's to hoping it'll work

[Echidna]

Meh.
As with any technical solution (for breathing underwater), this too requires a large and cumbersome apparatus which will produce much noise, provided it can ever work at all.

Instead of going to all that trouble, I'd rather breathe pure oxygen on the surface before freediving.
'Cause with pure oxygen, even untrained wussies can hold their breath for around 5 min :p

[AptaMer]

Meh.
I'd rather breathe pure oxygen on the surface before freediving.
'Cause with pure oxygen, even untrained wussies can hold their breath for around 5 min :p

Hi Caltuna, Please don't ever do this.

A few very experienced freediving gonzos have done this, and survived, but here's why it's a bad idea.

1) Oxygen toxicity. Even on the surface, pure oxygen is bad for your lungs. If you do this repeatedly, your lungs will get a sort of scarring effect.

2) Oxygen toxicity at depth. The toxicity of oxygen gets worse with increasing pressure.

3) Blackouts. You can indeed go longer by giving yourself a dose of pure oxygen, but flushing your lungs with pure gas containing no CO2 means that your CO2 blackout detection system will be miscalibrated, and you can more easily black out with no warning you're reaching your limits and it's going to happen.

We want all our mer friends to be safe and diving happily :mermaid kiss:

[Echidna]

Uh-oh :eek:
I wasn't really planning on doing it (I prefer diving au naturelle relying on no one else),
but that's shocking info.

Weren't all the world records in static apnea achieved by breathing pure oxygen first?
(No way you could reach that almost 20min otherwise...)
Those risks were never mentioned.

There was a moderator on TV doing a show on freediving, and they used pure oxygen to demonstrate.
Nothing was there said either about it being dangerous.

As I said, I wasn't planning on it, but the risks obviously aren't widely known.

[Aziara]

Hi Caltuna, Please don't ever do this.

A few very experienced freediving gonzos have done this, and survived, but here's why it's a bad idea.

1) Oxygen toxicity. Even on the surface, pure oxygen is bad for your lungs. If you do this repeatedly, your lungs will get a sort of scarring effect.

2) Oxygen toxicity at depth. The toxicity of oxygen gets worse with increasing pressure.

3) Blackouts. You can indeed go longer by giving yourself a dose of pure oxygen, but flushing your lungs with pure gas containing no CO2 means that your CO2 blackout detection system will be miscalibrated, and you can more easily black out with no warning you're reaching your limits and it's going to happen.

We want all our mer friends to be safe and diving happily :mermaid kiss:

Ehh?? Why are there oxygen bars that you can breath pure oxygen at? It's supposed to be healthy. I do recall seeing a free diver on Ripley's Believe it or Not, and he breathed pure oxygen from a tank before a 10 minute breath hold. When I had oral surgery, the doctor gave me pure oxygen before slowly adding the laughing gas.... I'm pretty sure oxygen won't scar your lungs. I do understand how blackouts could be a problem with no CO2 build-up in the body, but oxygen itself being harmful? I don't see it.

[Echidna]

Ye, I've never heard of the lung-scarring either.
Since oxygen is used in medical treatments etc, it's strange if it would be harmful.

But I'm no expert.

[Mermaid Sirena]

If this is real I want one soooooooo much.

[AptaMer]

Why are there oxygen bars that you can breath pure oxygen at? It's supposed to be healthy.

I do recall seeing a free diver on Ripley's Believe it or Not, and he breathed pure oxygen from a tank before a 10 minute breath hold.

When I had oral surgery, the doctor gave me pure oxygen before slowly adding the laughing gas.... I'm pretty sure oxygen won't scar your lungs.

I do understand how blackouts could be a problem with no CO2 build-up in the body, but oxygen itself being harmful? I don't see it.

Hi Aziara,

A good summary of oxygen toxicity can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxygen_toxicity

You can do it for periods of time, and not suffer for it, but the effects will build up if you keep doing it, and the effect becomes stronger with increasing pressure.

I first learned about the effect years ago when I learned about the balance you need to strike when keeping premature babies alive. They needed elevated oxygen to stay alive with their underdeveloped lungs, but too much oxygen exposure would damage their retinas, so the staff need to continually monitor them to make sure they're getting enough oxygen while keeping it low enough to prevent their sight being damaged.

As far as oxygen bars go, it's kind of like smoking. Once in a very long while won't hurt you, but don't make a regular habit of it.

And freedivers have done this for one-off statics, and some have even packed with oxygen and done a dive, but noone should make a habit of this kind of thing, and it should only be done with lots of safety support. I personally think I'll just stick to normal freediving myself :)

[mermaidCrae]

I want one!!!:gah: