The Benefits of Using Hard Shell Hyperbaric Chamber

21 Jul.,2025

 

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Chambers: Hard vs Soft Chamber

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) has emerged as a powerful treatment method. The choice between hard and soft chambers can significantly impact the effectiveness of the therapy. HBOT involves inhaling pure oxygen in a pressurized environment, which helps increase oxygen levels in the body and promote healing. 

Goto Rejuvelab to know more.

In this article, we will explore the differences between hard hyperbaric oxygen therapy chambers and soft hyperbaric oxygen therapy chambers.

What is a Hyperbaric Chamber?

A hyperbaric chamber is a sealed, pressurized environment that allows patients to breathe pure oxygen. In some clinics, the chamber is flooded with 100% oxygen, while in others, patients breathe oxygenthrough a mask. The increased pressure causes more oxygen to dissolve into the bloodstream, leading to numerous health benefits. 

Types of Hyperbaric Chambers

There are two main types of hyperbaric chambers: hard chambers and soft chambers. Let's take a closer look at each type.

Soft Hyperbaric Chambers

Soft hyperbaric chambers are typically made from flexible materials such as nylon or neoprene and can be easily transported. They are also known as mild or portable hyperbaric chambers primarily used for mild HBOT treatments. These chambers can only reach a maximum pressure of 1.3 atmospheres (some can reach slightly higher pressures, but nowhere near the pressures that a hard-sided chamber can accommodate). In addition, most soft-sided hyperbaric chambers use oxygen scrubbers to take oxygen out of the atmosphere in order to increase oxygen levels inside the chamber. However, oxygen scrubbers can only provide up to 31% oxygen, as opposed to the 100% oxygen provided in a hard-sided hyperbaric chamber.

Hard Hyperbaric Chambers

On the other hand, hard-sided hyperbaric chambers are made from rigid materials such as steel and acrylic and can provide more intense pressurized environments. Most can reach up to 6 atmospheres of pressure, making them ideal for more serious medical conditions and diseases. In addition, hard-sided chambers can accommodate 100% oxygen.

Advantages of Hard Chambers

While soft chambers may be more convenient and affordable, hard chambers offer several advantages that make them the preferred choice for many patients and healthcare providers:

  • Greater Pressure: As mentioned earlier, hard chambers can provide a much higher pressure level, leading to more effective treatments.
  • Better Oxygen Delivery: Hard chambers have advanced oxygen delivery systems that constantly flow pure oxygen during treatment sessions.
  • Faster Recovery Time: Due to the increased pressure and oxygen levels, hard chamber HBOT treatments can promote faster patient healing and recovery.

Comparing between Soft and Hard Shell Hyperbaric Oxygen Chambers

Feature Soft Shell Chambers Hard Shell Chambers Pressure Level Up to 1.3 atmospheres Up to 6 atmospheres (up to 2.8 ATA for therapeutic purposes) Suitability Mild treatments and conditions More severe medical conditions Treatment Duration Shorter sessions Longer sessions Treatment Efficiency Effective for mild conditions Effective in healing numerous severe medical conditions Staff Requirements Minimal supervision needed Specialized staff required

Choosing the Right Chamber

You must consider your specific needs and conditions when choosing between a hard hyperbaric oxygen chamber and a soft one. If you have a more severe medical condition or are seeking more intense HBOT treatments, a hard chamber is the better option from a health perspective.

Empowering Wellness with Bay Area Hyperbarics

After considering all the factors and advantages, it's clear that hard-sided hyperbaric oxygen chambers offer greater health benefits for patients. Theyt help with various medical conditions and can significantly improve your overall wellness. 

At Bay Area Hyperbarics, we are committed to healing our community. As such, we choose to not use soft-sided hyperbaric chambers and choose to not provide mild hyperbarics. We use

Hard Shell vs. Soft Shell Hyperbaric Therapy: What You Need to Know

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is not a new treatment — it was first used in — but it’s becoming a treatment of choice for many tough medical conditions, including diabetic foot ulcers, skin and bone infections, and burns.

If you are looking for more details, kindly visit Hard Shell Hyperbaric Chamber.

As it becomes a more popular treatment option, some practices are offering the therapy in equipment that isn’t up to the task. More specifically, we’re talking about the difference between hard shell hyperbaric chambers and soft shell chambers.

This month, Dr. Leon Tio and the team at Clover Oxygen Hyperbarics and Wound Center discuss what you should know about hard shell vs. soft shell hyperbaric therapy.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy basics

Let’s start with some basic information about hyperbaric oxygen therapy. At its core, this is a therapy in which we deliver 100% oxygen into your tissues using a pressurized chamber. For reference, the air around you contains about 21% oxygen.

The pure oxygen provides invaluable resources that help the body to heal. To give you an idea, the FDA has cleared hyperbaric oxygen therapy for 14 conditions, including:

  • Air and gas bubbles in blood vessels
  • Severe anemia
  • Burns
  • Carbon monoxide poisoning
  • Crush injury
  • Decompression sickness
  • Gas gangrene
  • Sudden hearing loss 
  • Severe skin and bone infections 
  • Radiation injury
  • Skin graft flap at risk of tissue death
  • Sudden vision loss
  • Non-healing wounds and diabetic foot ulcers

We’ve expanded the use of this therapy to include chronic fatigue syndrome, brain health, and sports medicine.

Not all hyperbaric chambers are the same

Because getting oxygen deep into your tissues is the goal of a hyperbaric oxygen chamber, you want one that excels at the task. This is why we only use a hard shell chamber at Clover Oxygen Hyperbarics and Wound Center.

As the name suggests, hard shell hyperbaric oxygen chambers are made from hard metals and plastics that we can seal off and pressurize properly. Inside these chambers, we can deliver 100% pure medical grade oxygen at a pressure that measures 2.0 ATA (absolute atmosphere) or higher. This pressure allows us to push oxygen deep into your tissues, even reaching bone.

In recent years, soft shell chambers are being marketed for the same purposes, but this equipment falls short in some significant ways.

Soft shell chambers — originally designed to be portable and to treat altitude sickness and decompression sickness — are made from nylon materials that rely on a zipper for closing, so they don’t seal like hard shell chambers do. This also means that soft shell chambers can’t pressurize the way hard shell ones can; soft shell hyperbaric chambers can only achieve 1.4 ATA, and they often measure less.

In response to soft shell hyperbaric chambers being marketed for medical use, the FDA has emphasized that they’re only cleared for altitude sickness treatment.

Know the benefits of hard shell hyperbaric therapy

In addition to hard shell chambers being far more effective than soft shell chambers, they’re also safer and cleaner. If you want to reap the full benefits of hyperbaric oxygen therapy, we urge you to seek treatment with hard shell chambers like the ones that we use.

Are you interested in learning more about Custom Red Light Therapy Room? Contact us today to secure an expert consultation!