Protection. Prevention. Management. These are the foundational tenants the Divers Alert Network (DAN) seeks to promulgate at DEMA Show 2017 and beyond. Since the day DAN opened its doors, they have remained committed to making diving safer for all scuba divers and freedivers. DAN is the largest non-profit group in the United States dedicated to dive safety.
On the show floor this year, DAN has streamlined their offerings to two main products: oxygen kits and first aid kits, because they want to ensure all dive professionals and divers have an enhanced capacity to handle dive accidents. Through its programs DAN wants to insure that dive professionals, dive students, and all dive businesses are fully “protected.” Fostering a culture of dive safety in every community is their “prevention” strategy. Providing access to their large portfolio of first aid programs is how DAN supports on-going “management.”
DAN is also on the cutting-edge of advancing research and sharing best practices with the industry, hosting various seminars for professionals including ground-breaking data collected at a recently held colloquium “Technical & Recreational Freediving: Advances in Safety and Performance.” Dr. Michael Lang, (board Chair of the DAN Foundation and faculty at UC San Diego’s Emergency Medicine School) presented in tandem with Kirk Krack, CEO & founder of Performance Freediving International, some eye-opening information on our understanding of the effects of freediving on the human body.
Topics included physiological comparisons in freediving mammals and human freedivers, the technical application of nitrox and 100% 02 for expedition diving and “working” freedivers, and the inherent risks and considerations in using these to aid in the reduction of fatigue. A full report is expected to be released in January 2018 with accompanying articles in the American Journal of Medicine. Stay tuned to Deeperblue.com for more information on these comprehensive addenda.
