How It's Made: Monoplace Hyperbaric Chamber

Today we got our first glimpse into how acrylic-tube hyperbaric chambers are made. HBOTechBlog toured the Sechrist plant in Anaheim, California, and has generously posted an explanatory chart and a gallery of photos and videos. Go check out "Sechrist Hyperbaric Chamber SECRETS Revealed!" Our thanks once more to Roque Wicker, whose blog will soon require an email subscription. Sign up now!

[Photo: HBOTechBlog]

O2.0 is the news blog of HyperbaricLink, the independent web guide to hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

Books: Hyperbaric Facility Safety? Check.

HBOT operators, manufacturers, and technicians should be delighted to see Hyperbaric Facility Safety (Wilbur Workman, ed, Best Publishing, 2000, 754 pgs, US$129) back in print. Flip through the table of contents on Amazon and you'll see Workman's thorough, practical approach to the subject and his appreciation for international regulations and practices. We're apt to trust the reviewers who say this primer belongs in the library of every hyperbaric unit everywhere. Order direct at www.bestpub.com or telephone +1 928 527 1055 before 31 March if you want to grab it for $99.

And speaking of safety, we've been enjoying The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right (Macmillan, 2009, 224 pgs, US$24.50), the surprise bestseller by surgeon Atul Gawande. Why did it take a MacArthur genius to come up with such basic stuff? It's a disarmingly simple idea for a complex world, and one that rings true looking back on our own experiences in medicine, pharmacy, manufacturing, communications, aviation, sailing, and information systems. Visit the author's website for bonus reviews by Malcolm Gladwell and Steven Levitt (the Freakonomics guy) plus terrific samples of actual checklists.

CMS Outpatient Supervision Rule Relaxed

Now here's a bit of healthcare reform more of us can agree on. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) last week revised its rule that physicians must be present in the hospital outpatient department during treatments they supervise. New rule: It's okay if the doc's available anywhere on campus. For hospital-based HBOT treatment centers the change will surely reduce costs and improve patient access. But, as we understand it, a supervising physician must still attend treatments at off-campus and freestanding centers. Our customary tip of the hat to Hyperbaric Tech Blog for the sharp reportage.

TBI: Army Set To Move Forward With Trial

Next week we'll post our Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) page and Evidence Index. Yesterday, thanks to some nice reporting from our friends at Hyperbaric Tech Blog, we learned the US Army has already engaged an interim contract research organization and, in two or three weeks, may issue a new Request for Proposals to commence its HBOT and TBI study. Onward!

O2.0 Welcomes Hyperbaric Tech Blog

We're always on the lookout for new voices in the HBOT blogosphere. (Really, the water's fine. Jump in.) One we'll be following religiously is Hyperbaric Tech Blog. Aimed at techs, managers, supervisors, and safety managers, it's:

1. An open and honest forum focusing on HBO safety and operational conundrums we as HBO techs run into on a daily basis.
2. Discussions on current HBO events, news, tips and tricks, and shared experiences in the field of Hyperbaric Medicine.

Informative. Fun. Breezy, but in a good way. This seems like a helpful new forum, and we're happy to see them off to a flying start.