Hyperbaric Chambers

HBOT is a medical intervention where a patient breathes 100% oxygen while inside a hyperbaric chamber that is pressurized to greater than sea level pressures (an augmented atmospheric pressure). According to the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS), this pressure may equal or exceed 1.4 ATA.

The increased pressure increases the amount of oxygen dissolved in the blood via Henry’s law, which states that the amount of dissolved gas in a liquid is directly proportional to the partial pressure of that gas. This in turn increases the oxygen supply to tissues, which accelerates the wash-out of other gases, such as carbon monoxide or nitrogen, via an increased diffusion gradient.

The oxygen diffuses primarily into plasma, since haemoglobin is nearly entirely bound with oxygen at room air. The hyper-oxygenated blood then distributes to all the tissues that receive arterial blood flow. The increased oxygen, as well as the increased pressure, are both essential in treating a variety of emergent and nonemergent conditions.

The key is to use oxygen intermittently at higher ambient pressure. The air we breathe contains nearly 21% oxygen. But in a hyperbaric chamber we can deliver 100% intermittent oxygen in an environment usually two to three times greater than the normal atmospheric pressure. That combination allows for an intermittent increase of the amount of oxygen in the blood, which is an effective stimulus to improve blood flow in areas with poor circulation. That in turn helps with the healing of complicated wounds that do not respond to conventional care, helps the immune system fight infections, and does so much more.

HBOT arises as an extraordinary support in the handling of hypoxia and other hypoxia-related phenomena by increasing blood and tissue levels of oxygen.