Murray, UT (10/16/2006) — A dramatically different new hyperbaric chamber - the first of its kind in the United States and only the second one like it in the world - was hoisted into Intermountain Medical Center last week. The new walk-in, 26-ton chamber, which was manufactured in Australia, has square walls and can treat up to eight patients at a time - as opposed to the hyperbaric cylinders that are normally used to treat a single patient.
"When Intermountain Medical Center opens next October, the Hyperbaric Medicine Center will be one of the region's crown jewels and serve patients from throughout the country," says Lin Weaver, MD, director of the hyperbaric center.
The new chamber features hypobaric capabilities that will allow for significant research opportunities and high altitude training. Patients who are poisoned by carbon monoxide are placed in the chamber and administered 100 percent oxygen at pressure two to three times greater than normal sea level pressure. Hyperbaric therapy is also used for patients with chronic wounds, radiation poisoning, diving injuries and diabetes-related illnesses.
"When Intermountain Medical Center opens next October, the Hyperbaric Medicine Center will be one of the region's crown jewels and serve patients from throughout the country," says Lin Weaver, MD, director of the hyperbaric center. The new chamber features hypobaric capabilities that will allow for significant research opportunities and high altitude training. Patients who are poisoned by carbon monoxide are placed in the chamber and administered 100 percent oxygen at pressure two to three times greater than normal sea level pressure. Hyperbaric therapy is also used for patients with chronic wounds, radiation poisoning, diving injuries and diabetes-related illnesses.
