Shaheem Buffington
Pronouns:
Research Mentor(s): Jens-Christian Meiners
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Biophysics / Physics / LSA
Program:
Authors: Jens-Christian Meiners, Roman Alvarro, Shaheem Buffington
Session: Session 6: 3:40 pm – 4:30 pm
Poster: 21
Abstract
Decompression sickness is a disease caused from experiencing a rapid change in pressure. This disease is most commonly found among deep sea divers, gas bubbles builds up in their spinal cord from the changing in pressures leaving irreversible changes to their spin, often leaving them paralyzed. Using knowledge of the threshold of stress that a spinal cord can withstand, we want to find out how the gas behaves inside the spine to determine the point of no return. This will help prevent and avoid decompression sickness. Using the COMSOL, a multiphysics modeling software, we simulate the properties of gas and a spine to simulate how decompression sickness works. The software allows us to create a model of a spine and use physics to simulate and analyze different times to see where it crosses the yielding stress point for the spinal cord. Finding how the model handles a change between three atmospheres of pressure, we will be able to identify the point of no return and use this model to simulate how to lessen this impact. We will work with medical professionals and divers to create new prevention methods to help out divers, in hopes to save divers from decompression sickness.
