The chamber also has research potential. It has both hypo- and hyperbaric capabilities, meaning the air pressure can be changed to simulate conditions at altitudes of up to 40,000 feet — higher than Mount Everest — or up to 99 feet below sea level for treating patients.

"Patients are never left alone (in the chamber)," Weaver said.

Most patients will stay in the chamber only about two hours at a time, but it can be used for overnight sleep studies at simulated high elevation. Pilots also could use it to see what high altitude really feels like, but under controlled, safe conditions.

"It gives us a lot of flexibility," Weaver said.

Traditionally, patients are treated in a monoplace chamber — a clear cylindrical unit that can accommodate only one person. The new unit at IMC can hold up to eight patients and several staff members at a time.

The chamber's rectangular shape — rare for such a device worldwide — allows patients and staff to feel they are in a regular room. It also has two rooms that can be pressurized separately, one of which is a bathroom — a rarity in such devices. Besides a toilet, the chamber also has two sinks. It even has a TV monitor.

Reclining chairs in the chamber will add to patient comfort, and beds can be brought in for sleep studies. But everything brought into the chamber must be carefully evaluated for how air pressure may affect it and for safety. Even the slightest spark could pose extreme hazards.

Such chambers are governed by strict federal regulations to lessen fire dangers and other potential problems. A special fire sprinkling system can dump 540 gallons of water in the chamber in 100 seconds, if needed.

These large air chambers are rare because they require extensive structural planning and are expensive to purchase and maintain. Besides the special water reservoir for fire safety, Intermountain had to add a fifth air compressor to utilize the chamber.

Weaver said doctors and health insurance providers have only gained an appreciation for the benefits of these devices during the past decade or less.

"This has been quite a journey," Weaver said of Intermountain's hyperbaric medicine department, which started in the early 1980s. "There aren't many in the world that have the capabilities of this chamber."

Only Sweden, Australia, the Mayo Clinic and Duke University have chamber facilities that probably equal or exceed what Intermountain now has, according to Weaver.

Intermountain's Hyperbaric Department will operate at two locations: IMC, which has both the new multiplace chamber and a monoplace unit; and LDS hospital, which will continue to provide treatments in several monoplace chambers. Only a few hyperbaric departments in the country — all of them back East — run both types of chambers.

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E-mail: lynn@desnews.com