Ind: Computer camera saves 10-year-old girl from drowning in pool

Computer camera saves 10-year-old girl from drowning in pool
By Genevi=E8ve Roberts

The Independent (London)
Published: 01 September 2005

As a 10-year-old girl sank unconscious to the bottom of a swimming
pool, a new underwater camera that scans the entire pool proved it can
save lives.

The computer system alerted the lifeguard via a text message and she
dived in and rescued the girl within 40 seconds. Doctors say that if
she had been left for any longer she would almost certainly have died,
or suffered irreversible brain damage due to lack of oxygen.

It is the first time that the =A365,000 Poseidon system, which detects
within seconds whether someone has stopped moving, has been used to
save a life.

The schoolgirl, from Rochdale, Lancs, fell unconscious after jumping
into the 12-foot deep end of swimming baths in Bangor, Wales during a
camping trip on 24 August.

Poseidon works by extra-sensitive cameras monitoring underwater sound
volume, the movement of objects in the water and the trajectory of
swimmers in action. If it detects a person in distress the on-duty
lifeguard is sent a page within three seconds detailing the swimmer's
exact location.

Lifeguard Karen Gibson, who carried out last week's rescue, said: "You
can't see people on the bottom when there are people swimming, let
alone in the summer holidays when there is so much splashing. This
system is a fantastic help for us."

The girl was given mouth-to-mouth at the scene and recovered later at
Gwynedd Hospital.

As a 10-year-old girl sank unconscious to the bottom of a swimming
pool, a new underwater camera that scans the entire pool proved it can
save lives.

The computer system alerted the lifeguard via a text message and she
dived in and rescued the girl within 40 seconds. Doctors say that if
she had been left for any longer she would almost certainly have died,
or suffered irreversible brain damage due to lack of oxygen.

It is the first time that the =A365,000 Poseidon system, which detects
within seconds whether someone has stopped moving, has been used to
save a life.

The schoolgirl, from Rochdale, Lancs, fell unconscious after jumping
into the 12-foot deep end of swimming baths in Bangor, Wales during a
camping trip on 24 August.

Poseidon works by extra-sensitive cameras monitoring underwater sound
volume, the movement of objects in the water and the trajectory of
swimmers in action. If it detects a person in distress the on-duty
lifeguard is sent a page within three seconds detailing the swimmer's
exact location.

Lifeguard Karen Gibson, who carried out last week's rescue, said: "You
can't see people on the bottom when there are people swimming, let
alone in the summer holidays when there is so much splashing. This
system is a fantastic help for us."

The girl was given mouth-to-mouth at the scene and recovered later at
Gwynedd Hospital.


http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/thi...icle309515.ece