Difference Between Soft and Hard Hyperbaric Chamber Cost
Over the last 50 years, the number of health facilities delivering hyperbaric oxygen therapy has increased dramatically. Around 27 facilities around the country offered HBOT in the 1970s. As more people learnt about the advantages of HBOT, more facilities began to offer hyperbaric chamber treatments. There are lakhs of hospitals that offer the treatment. This also includes the clinics or practitioners that are not affiliated with a hospital. To know about the hard and soft hyperbaric chamber cost, you need to go through the entire guide.
Hard Hyperbaric Oxygen Chambers
Physicians employ hard hyperbaric oxygen chambers in hospitals and clinics. These chambers are medically approved devices that can cure 14 different ailments. They also show promising outcomes in investigations for a slew of other ailments. At atmospheric pressures above 2.0 ATA, these steel-enclosed chambers deliver 100 per cent oxygen. The charge of hard hyperbaric oxygen therapy cost can vary as per the patient’s health status or the number of sessions patients require. Generally, it can range from between £50 and £1,000 per session.
Soft-Sided Hyperbaric Chambers
Soft-sided chambers, often known as gentle HBOT or mild HBOT (mHBOT), are zipper-sealed portable chambers. They have a maximum pressure of 1.3 ATA and normally give 24 per cent oxygen. The objective was never to use soft-sided chambers for therapy. They were originally created for divers & rock climbers to use. Many athletes still use these chambers, and again the cost can vary. However, these chambers start from £5000.
What Facts Say About Hard and Soft HBOT
When it comes to the oxygen concentration in the body, the difference between soft and hard chambers is significant. To better understand this, imagine that you are reading this while inhaling room air with a 21% oxygen concentration. 24 per cent oxygen is used in a soft-sided chamber. People carried in an ambulance and wearing an oxygen mask, on the other hand, are receiving 55 per cent oxygen. Hyperbaric chamber with a hard shell provide 100% oxygen. These figures do not account for changes in pressure levels.
Let’s take a closer look at arterial blood gas levels, which reveal how much oxygen is in the blood. Your blood oxygen level will be 157 mmHg in typical air conditions as well as at normal pressure. Your number climbs to 230 mmHg in a soft-sided chamber with 24 per cent oxygen. An oxygen mask, such as those used in ambulance transport, gives you 418 mmHg and offers 55 per cent oxygen at normal pressure. The main difference occurs in a hard-shell chamber, of course. Your arterial oxygen levels hit 1,824 mmHg in it with 100 per cent oxygen.
The concept of hyperbaric oxygen therapy is to flood the body with more oxygen. Unfortunately, soft-sided chambers don’t truly provide much more than the air you breathe naturally. In all honesty, a basic oxygen mask provides more advantages. In the United Kingdom, over 55 per cent of people prefer hyperbaric oxygen therapy in London at clinics.
Final Views
While hyperbaric oxygen therapy is currently approved for the treatment of various conditions, many more have been cured with great success in medical clinics and clinical studies, proving the body with pure oxygen can heal and, in many cases, restore quality of life. However, in all of these investigations, oxygen was supplied at 100 per cent and at pressures of 2.0 ATA or higher.
There has been no actual research on the benefits of mild hyperbaric therapy. Based on the figures, the oxygen levels they supply aren’t significantly different from what you would ordinarily breathe in. Now you can have a better view of which kind of HBOT is more effective. In case of any doubt, you can always consult the doctor.