A company in New Orleans is building an ambulance equipped with a hyperbaric chamber.
The ambulance project is being led by Dr. Keith Van Meter, Section head of Emergency Medicine at LSU Health Sciences Center, and attorney Bobby Delise. Their goal is to bring life-saving pressurized oxygen treatment directly to patients in emergency situations, WWLTV reports.
Advocates of the therapy say hyperbaric oxygen therapy is useful in treating conditions such as traumatic brain injuries, strokes, long COVID, and near-drowning cases. Proponents say it works by reducing inflammation and accelerating cellular healing.
The new ambulance, being built by Hypervan, will enable faster treatment, potentially transforming the “golden hour” into the “golden five minutes” for critical care, Delise told WWLTV.
The ambulance, built by a local engineering team, can also function as a traditional ambulance. Hyper Van plans to train paramedics in hyperbaric therapy and donate the first vehicle to the New Orleans Health Department. The rollout is expected within a year, with three Hyper Vans planned initially—one for active calls, one for training, and one for crash testing.
