Reference

HBOT Glossary: Key Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Terms Explained

A plain-language glossary of the hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) terms used across HBOT-Wiki - chamber types, pressure units and the certifications we check against official registers. Definitions are background information, not medical advice.

HBOT (Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy): Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is breathing oxygen inside a sealed chamber where the air pressure is raised above normal, so the blood can take up and carry more oxygen to the body's tissues.
mHBOT (Mild HBOT): Mild hyperbaric oxygen therapy uses lower pressures, typically up to about 1.3 to 1.5 ATA, usually in soft-sided chambers for wellness and home use rather than clinical treatment.
ATA (Atmospheres Absolute): Atmospheres absolute is the unit for the total pressure inside a chamber. 1 ATA equals normal pressure at sea level; most HBOT protocols run between about 1.3 and 3.0 ATA.
Monoplace chamber: A monoplace chamber treats one person at a time, usually a clear tube pressurised with oxygen. It is the most common format for clinics and for private use at home.
Multiplace chamber: A multiplace chamber is a walk-in room that treats several people at once. Patients breathe oxygen through masks or hoods while the room itself is pressurised with air.
Soft-sided chamber: A soft-sided (mild) chamber has flexible walls and operates at low pressure, around 1.3 to 1.5 ATA. It is portable and used mainly for wellness and home applications.
FDA 510(k) clearance: A 510(k) clearance is a US Food and Drug Administration authorisation to market a medical device by showing it is substantially equivalent to one already on the market. On HBOT-Wiki a clearance counts as register-verified only when it is found in the FDA's public database.
EUDAMED: EUDAMED is the European Database on Medical Devices. An entry there lets a manufacturer's device registration in the EU be checked independently rather than taken on trust.
CE marking: A CE mark is a manufacturer's declaration that a product meets EU requirements. For many devices it is a self-declaration, so on HBOT-Wiki a CE claim is treated as manufacturer-stated unless it can be confirmed in a register.
ASME PVHO-1: ASME PVHO-1 is the US engineering standard for the safety of pressure vessels for human occupancy, which includes hyperbaric chambers.
ISO 13485: ISO 13485 is an international standard for quality-management systems in medical-device manufacturing. It certifies the company's processes, not any individual chamber.
Register-verified vs manufacturer-stated: HBOT-Wiki labels every certification as either register-verified, meaning it is confirmed in an official register such as FDA 510(k) or EUDAMED, or manufacturer-stated, meaning it rests only on the maker's own claim.
Barotrauma: Barotrauma is tissue injury caused by a difference in pressure, most often affecting the middle ear during compression. It is the most common side effect of HBOT and is usually mild and preventable by equalising the ears.
UHMS: The Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society is the main professional body that defines the recognised medical indications for hyperbaric oxygen therapy.
Normobaric oxygen: Normobaric oxygen is breathing high-concentration oxygen at ordinary room pressure (1 ATA), for example through a mask. It differs from HBOT, which raises the pressure; for cluster headache, normobaric oxygen is the better-supported option.