Developmental Spectrums is pleased to offer the popular Vitaeris soft-sided or “mild” hyperbaric chambers for home rental to our patients, by prescription only. Hyperbaric oxygen treatment is emerging as the most exciting new medical treatment for autism spectrum disorders in the past several years.
Safety
Mild HBOT is a very safe procedure that is FDA approved for home use under a doctor’s prescription. It has an excellent safety record. As with any medical procedure, there are contraindications, meaning conditions under which it should not be used, and potential side-effects. The main situation in which you should not use home HBOT is if the child’s ears are plugged. It is essential to be able to equalize the pressure in the ears during pressurization and depressurization of the chamber, or else this process will cause ear pain. Therefore it is important to make sure that the child is free of ear infections or sinus congestion prior to using the chamber. We will review with you the complete list of contraindications and possible side-effects at the time of equipment rental.
Convenience and Accessibility
Home use of the soft-sided chambers offers the advantage of accessibility to those who live far away. In the past, patients often had to travel long distances, often at great inconvenience, to be able to find a hyperbaric center that could treat their child. Even if a center is close by, we all know how hectic the schedules are for families with children on the spectrum. Sometimes it is impossible to make time for one more treatment, when you already have to do OT, ABA, Speech, APE, AIT, biomedical treatment, and more. With home rental you can get the benefit of HBOT without having to travel.
Efficiency and Affordability
Another advantage of home HBOT is that you can do more than one hour of treatment in a day. In a center, usually only one hour can be scheduled at a time. There is some new evidence that for mild HBOT, there may be even more benefit to the therapy if it is done for 2-3 hours per day. When a family does that, they get two - three times the number of sessions per treatment period than they would get if they came to a center. This makes the cost per treatment very affordable. Some families will even do ABA or homework in the chamber. Some of that time can even be done when the child is asleep. This ability to multi-task at home makes it a very efficient use of your treatment time. Also, for families that have more than one child who needs treatment, home rental is very cost-effective.
HBOT Chamber Purchase
Through home rental, mild hyperbaric oxygen therapy can be done in your home at your convenience for as long as it is needed, without having to make the larger investment of purchasing the chamber. When many families find out how beneficial home HBOT really is for their child, however, they end up wanting to buy the chamber after all. Developmental Spectrums has arranged with the manufacturer of the chambers to be able to sell new chambers to our patients at a discount. If you are interested in purchasing a new chamber, please contact us for information.
HBOT Rental Policies
The complete HBOT Retal Policies document is included in the HBOT Intake packet, which will be emailed or sent through regular mail after you call to investigate or schedule an appoinment. As an overview, HBOT rentals require that the person be a patient of Developmental Spectrums, and get a prescription for HBOT treatment from Dr. Mielke. Rentals are done on a monthly basis, with significant discounts offered for extensions of the rental period. A deposit, applicable to the rental cost, is required for the equipment, as is special training in its operation. There is an added fee for operational training and chamber inspection/cleaning. Rental families are asked to fill out a symptom tracking form weekly, to help document their child’s progress. You may call the staff with any questions during the rental period. We ask that you be prompt for your pick-up and drop-off appointments.
Summary
Overall, we hope that you will be very favorably impressed with the effects of mild hyperbaric oxygen therapy for your child. We have found that this intervention is beneficial to the majority of patients who try it. While the results do vary as with any other treatment, most families feel that it was definitely worthwhile, and many are so impressed, they opt to continue the treatment indefinitely through purchasing their own chamber. Please call our office for exact prices and to answer any additional questions you may have about HBOT rental.
