HBOT - India. Use & Abuse of Refurbished HBOT Chambers

Interest in new HBO facilities in India is presently expanding rapidly. This is greatly going to benefit the patients who had no other alternative treatments available to them in certain medical problems. 

However, there are substantial numbers of new companies entering into the refurbished market, often in areas where they have very little knowledge of the in’s and out’s  of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, neither in the technical nor in the clinical part.

The fundamental technology in a hyperbaric chamber system is fairly simple and well understood. However, the proper packaging of that technology into a safe and effective Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Chamber is a lot more difficult than it looks.

Buyers beware before taking a decision in buying a refurbished Hyperbaric Chamber: Consider the below bare facts !!!

1. A clinical chamber system is NOT a diving recompression chamber. The main personnel hazard in a clinical chamber, for example, is often not the much discussed issues of oxygen toxicity or fire, but the chances of components failing during the therapy creating trauma or even causing damage to the patient’s body organs. 

2. Hyperbaric chambers are pressure vessels. They are subject to the boiler and pressure vessel laws of that jurisdiction which is not currently followed or known in India. This regulatory aspect has nothing to do with medicine but is hospital safety issues related to pressure vessels.

3. Hyperbaric chambers being pressure vessels, are required to be certified by (1) PVHO (Pressure Vessel for Human Occupancy) (2) ASME (American Standard for Mechanical Engineers) (3) NFPA (National Fire Protection Act.

4.With the current trend of Hyperbaric Medicine Treatment in India, Centers are opting towards the “so called refurbished” hyperbaric chambers (used equipment… strictly speaking) which are over 10-18 years old mainly from the Western and European countries.

Why these units are not refurbished? It would be prudent for any user in the USA, for example, to buy a new Hyperbaric Chamber than spending huge amounts on a new Acrylic tube, parts and the related refurbishing labour costs. 

This is the reason why these “used, out dated and not refurbished hyperbaric Chambers”  are bought at junk prices and imported into India.

The underlying danger of the equipment is not explained to the Potential Customer. There are serious protocol issues related to service, availability of spare parts and most of all of the damages that may be caused  to the patient during therapy.  

5. Apart from clinical hazard, these out dated equipment may hold potential risk both to the operator and to the patient considering the aspect of dealing with highly inflammable oxygen under pressurized conditions.