Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy is a special medical treatment which was initially used to treat altitude sickness. Later, hyperbaric treatment also evolved to cure certain disorders such as carbon monoxide poisoning, radiation injuries, gas gangrene and other medical and surgical treatments. More recently, HBOT has been found effective for improving the conditions of some of the incurable medical conditions such as autism and cerebral palsy. This treatment has also brought in impressive results in curing Lyme disease, improving cardiac conditions of a large number of patients, treating multiple sclerosis and brain injuries as well as other improving other immunodeficiency disorders.

The Hyperbaric treatment involves the process of administering 100 percent pure oxygen into a patient's body at a higher pressure in a specialized enclosed chamber called Hyperbaric or HBOT Chamber. The pressure for the hyperbaric treatment is usually 14.7 psi and it usually lasts for one to two hours.

There are different kinds of hyperbaric chambers designed for commercial usage such as hospitals and therapy centers as well as for domestic treatment purpose. The commercial chambers are large-sized, measuring nine feet in height with 31 inches diameter. Its internal volume is over 80,000 cubic inches and can accommodate more than one person at a time. The chambers that are primarily used for the domestic treatments are known as Portable HBOT chambers. Also known as mild hyperbaric chambers", these types feature soft sides and use lower pressures compared to the commercial counterparts.

There are two types of portable HBOT chambers - Hyper-Oxy chamber and Gamo Mountain Bag. Hyper-Oxy chamber has a maximum pressure of 4 psi and is larger than many other portable chambers, wherein the patients need to sit rather than lying down. These are used for treating ailments such as chronic headaches and high-altitude sickness and are mostly common in health spas. The other type of portable hyperbaric chamber is Gamo Mountain Bag. With a maximum pressure of 2 psi, the chamber is also used for treating cases of high altitude sickness and in some places, this portable chamber is even considered as the standard emergency equipment for trekking and mountaineering expeditions.

There are personal hyperbaric chambers that enable the patients to undertake HBOT sessions at the comfort their home. There are two different kinds of Personal hyperbaric chambers - Mono-Place HBOT Chamber and Multi-Place HBOT Chamber. Mono-Place Chambers find great usages with the athletes. These chambers consume minimal space and take up less space than a twin-sized bed. Unlike the Mono-Place chambers, two- to eight people can be treated at a time within Multi-Place HBOT chambers. Many sports facilities, training grounds and gymnasiums have Multi-Place HBOT chambers. The pressure in these chambers is much higher compared to the Mono-Place chambers and the patients undergoing the therapy can sit comfortably within the chamber.

Apart from these, there are Semi-Portable HBOT Chambers which are somewhat similar to the portable ones, but are much heavier units that are not suited to be moved around. Home-Use Hyperbaric Chambers are also available wherein the patients can go hyperbaric therapy sessions without a physician's supervision as these require minimal controls. These chambers feature simple designs and are most popular among the athletes.