The concept of an 'Integrated Survival System' for protection against the responses associated with immersion in cold water

In this paper the concept of an 'Integrated Survival System' (ISS) is introduced and discussed in relation to the helicopter passenger/crew member, although the principles are equally applicable to many other types of user and circumstance requiring specialized protective clothing. The fundamental principles behind this concept are first, that the wearer should be given protection against all of the hazardous responses associated with immersion in cold water and secondly, that the individual components which make up the ISS must be compatible and complementary; they may also be interdependent.