Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy

History of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy at Mayo Clinic

Mayo Clinic's involvement in aerospace medicine dates back decades and includes a role in the successes of the Allied air forces during World War II. As early as the 1930s, the clinic's aerospace medical unit was focused on solving the problems of aviators, such as decompression illness. Studying human responses to high altitude, gravity and centrifuge conditions laid the foundation for today's innovative patient care.

The G-suits worn by pilots and astronauts today to withstand high gravitational acceleration, or Gs, are a direct outcome of the unit's work. The suits, developed at Mayo Clinic, are designed to keep blood from flowing away from the brain during extremely fast or complex airborne maneuvers. Without G-suits, pilots could black out, potentially resulting in death.

The aeromedical unit also pioneered a face mask for oxygen delivery at high altitudes. After the war, Mayo physicians and researchers began to apply that knowledge to clinical applications for patient care.

The Aerospace Medicine division consults with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for pilot certification examinations and other screening assessments. Commercial and private pilots come to Mayo for executive flight physicals.

Mayo Clinic's hyperbaric medicine program is another step toward the convergence of aerospace and vascular medicine. The hyperbaric chamber, long used for treatment of decompression, is now improved, larger and applicable to other sorts of patient treatment, while remaining an important research resource.