Veteran oversees innovative hyperbaric oxygen study at USF

University of South Florida associate professor Dr. Joseph Dituri survived a traumatic brain injury (TBI) in 2021 – which gave him a passion to seek a cure for the condition. He is currently overseeing a hyperbaric oxygen therapy study at USF for military veterans who have suffered TBIs. 

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy refers to the intake of pure (100% or near) oxygen in a more pressurized environment. For Dituri’s study, participants lay in a hyperbaric chamber, or a clear acrylic cylinder similar to the size of an MRI machine. 

This pressure lets oxygen “get to places better,” Dituri explained to the Catalyst. “What we are hoping for is that across the board hyperbaric oxygen will decrease neural inflammation.” 

In most environments, people only breathe approximately 21% oxygen. 

A 28-year U.S. Navy veteran and biomedical researcher, Dituri, known by the alias Dr. Deep Sea,  spent 100 days underwater at Jules’ Undersea Lodge in Key Largo studying the impacts of hyperbaric pressure in 2023. This led him to earn a Guinness World record for the longest time spent living in an underwater fixed habitat. 

“Part of the reason why I stayed underwater was basically to get in everyone’s mind the mechanisms of action of hyperbaric medicine,” he said. “When I did that, I pressurized myself underwater to the same pressure at which we are treating traumatic brain injury at the University of South Florida.” 

The clinical study, which started almost two years ago, will take five years to complete.

Dituri’s participants will receive 40 76-minute treatments. Treatments are given daily Monday through Friday. Funded by the Florida legislature, the study is only open to veterans who have mild to moderate TBIs. 

The trial can accommodate 420 participants. “This is the largest hyperbaric oxygen study ever done.” 

Half of the group will receive hyperbaric oxygen and increased pressure and half will not. 

The Florida legislature has also agreed to fund hyperbaric oxygen treatment for participants who did not get it during the study, Dituri said. “That’s how strongly we feel that it’s going to reduce inflammation and help traumatic brain injury.” 

Traumatic brain injuries have been reported for hundreds of years, he added. However, not much progress has been made in regard to treatment options.  

“To this day, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has no cure for traumatic brain injury. So all we’re looking to do is what I call move the needle,” Dituri explained. 

“Your body wants to heal itself. That’s what it does. So if you can put your body in the right position to heal itself, we are hoping that it’s going to work for the betterment of society.” 

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy has been explored by veterans in the past. These servicemen and women paid for treatments out of pocket, Dituri added, desperate for a cure. 

For Dituri and his team, the study is about proving whether these treatments actually work or not. “Science wins over bullshit,” he said.

If it is successful, he believes the United States Department of Veterans Affairs should pay for treatments for veterans affected by TBIs. 

“My traumatic brain injury is the best thing that ever happened to me,” Dituri added. “It gave me empathy.” 

To learn more about the study and to register, visit this website.