For the purpose of providing an overview to parents considering this treatment for their child – there are two types of HBOT equipment ie. portable or rental hyperbaric chamber :
- Hard hyperbaric chambers with 100% oxygen (typically provided in an outpatient facility.)
- Soft hyperbaric chambers with “concentrated” oxygen (provided by certain Defeat Autism Now!(DAN!) doctors and other providers such as chiropractors and other professionals.)
Many of the DAN! providers are looking to recommend mild hyperbarics at 1.3 to 1.5 atmospheres. The hard hyperbaric chamber providers can provide this low level hyperbaric treatment (HBOT) with 100% oxygen. Hard hyperbaric chambers with 100% oxygen are not approved for home use.
Typically the hard rental hyperbaric chambers providing 100% oxygen DO NOT ALLOW electronics of any kind in their units for safety reasons. Some providers have wired their units for music or for watching video on DVD with viewing portholes. You will need to inquire if this is available for your child if it is needed. Hard hyperbaric chambers can also treat several children at once in a session so you and your child can go into the chamber with other families.
Many of the soft hyperbaric chambers have been approved for home use and do not use 100% oxygen. These chambers typically use what is defined as an oxygen concentrator. These concentrators filter the air in the room and provide a higher level of oxygenation to the air in the chamber. The percent concentration of the air in the hyperbaric chamber with an oxygen concentrator has been debated to be somewhere between 40-80%.