Glossary
Terms explained.
ATA, BIBS, IHHT, SpO₂: the terms you meet in oxygen technology and research, explained in plain language. Missing a term? Ask us on WhatsApp.
Pressure and chambers
- HBOT (hyperbaric oxygen)
- Breathing concentrated oxygen in a chamber at a pressure above normal air pressure. The higher pressure lets more oxygen dissolve in the blood plasma. Medical centres work at higher pressures under medical supervision; wellness and sport mostly use milder pressures.
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- mHBOT (mild hyperbaric oxygen)
- HBOT at a mild overpressure, usually around 1.3 to 1.5 ATA. This is the range of most soft chambers and of many sessions in wellness, sport and recovery.
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- ATA
- Atmosphere absolute: the total pressure, including the air pressure around us. At sea level the pressure is 1.0 ATA; 1.5 ATA is half an atmosphere above that, comparable to about five metres under water.
- Hard-shell chamber
- A chamber with a rigid wall of steel, aluminium or composite. It can reach higher pressures, has a fixed shape and is entered through a door; often chosen for professional and intensive use.
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- Soft-shell chamber
- A chamber with a flexible, airtight wall that takes its shape from the internal pressure. It works at mild pressures, is lighter and needs less space; often chosen for home use and smaller practices.
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- BIBS mask
- Built-In Breathing System: a mask through which the user breathes concentrated oxygen while the chamber itself is filled with compressed air. Exhaled air is led out of the chamber, which keeps the oxygen level in the chamber low.
- Ear equalisation
- Balancing the pressure behind the eardrum with the pressure around you, as on a plane or when diving: by swallowing, yawning or gently blowing with the nose pinched. It is needed while a chamber builds up or releases pressure.
- Boyle's and Henry's law
- Two gas laws behind hyperbaric oxygen. Boyle: at higher pressure a gas takes up less volume (why ears need equalising). Henry: the higher the pressure of a gas, the more of it dissolves in a liquid such as blood plasma.
Oxygen and measuring
- Oxygen concentrator
- A device that draws in ambient air and filters out nitrogen, leaving air with a high oxygen content, typically around 90 to 95 percent. No oxygen cylinders are needed.
- FiO₂
- Fraction of inspired oxygen: the share of oxygen in the air you breathe in. Normal air contains about 21 percent oxygen; in IHHT and altitude training this share is deliberately lowered or raised.
- SpO₂
- Peripheral oxygen saturation: the percentage of haemoglobin in the blood that carries oxygen, measured with a pulse oximeter. In healthy people at sea level it is usually between 95 and 100 percent.
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- Pulse oximeter
- A small clip on the finger or ear that measures SpO₂ and heart rate with light. In IHHT it guides the session: the device follows the saturation and switches between low-oxygen and oxygen-rich air.
- Hypoxia
- Less oxygen than normal, in the air you breathe or in the body. In altitude training and IHHT, short, controlled periods of low-oxygen air are used as a training stimulus.
- Hyperoxia
- More oxygen than normal. In IHHT the low-oxygen phases alternate with phases of oxygen-rich air; in a hyperbaric chamber the raised pressure and concentrated oxygen lead to hyperoxia.
- HRV (heart rate variability)
- The variation in time between heartbeats. It is widely used, for example with sports watches, as an indicator of recovery and of the balance between tension and rest.
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- VO₂max
- The maximum amount of oxygen the body can take up and use per minute during intense exercise, in millilitres per kilogram of body weight. A common measure of endurance fitness.
Training and technologies
- IHHT (interval hypoxic-hyperoxic training)
- Breathing through a mask while lying or sitting at rest, alternating a few minutes of low-oxygen air with a few minutes of oxygen-rich air. A pulse oximeter guides the switching, so the session adapts to the person.
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- Altitude training
- Training or resting in air with less oxygen, as in the mountains. Air with about 15 percent oxygen corresponds to roughly 2,500 to 3,000 metres. With a hypoxic generator this is possible at home or in the gym.
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- Normobaric and hypobaric hypoxia
- Two ways to create thin air. Hypobaric: lower air pressure, as at real altitude. Normobaric: normal air pressure but a lower share of oxygen, which is how altitude and IHHT devices work.
- Molecular hydrogen (H₂) inhalation
- Breathing in a small amount of hydrogen gas, usually mixed with oxygen, through a nasal cannula. A generator makes the gas from water by electrolysis. Research looks at hydrogen as a selective antioxidant.
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- Session protocol
- The agreed set-up of a session: pressure or oxygen level, duration, number of cycles and how often per week. Protocols in research make results comparable; in practice they are tailored to the person.
Body and research
- Mitochondria
- The energy factories of the cell. They use oxygen to turn nutrients into ATP, the fuel for almost every process in the body. Much research on oxygen technologies looks at mitochondria.
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- ROS (reactive oxygen species)
- Reactive molecules, including free radicals, that form naturally when cells use oxygen. In small amounts they act as signals that help the body adapt; in large amounts they can cause oxidative stress.
- Oxidative stress
- An imbalance between reactive oxygen species and the body's own antioxidant defence. Researchers measure it with markers in blood and tissue.
- Hormesis
- The principle that a small, controlled stimulus, such as exercise, cold or short periods of low oxygen, prompts the body to adapt and become more resilient. It is the idea behind intermittent hypoxia and IHHT.
- PMID / DOI
- Identifiers of a scientific publication. The PMID is the number in PubMed, the medical literature database; the DOI is the permanent link to the article. Every study in our research library lists both.
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- CE marking
- The mark with which a manufacturer declares that a product meets the European rules that apply to it, such as those for machinery, electrical safety and pressure equipment.
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Would you like to experience it?
Questions about a term or a system?
Our showroom in Goes has many of our systems set up and running. Take a session, feel the difference between the technologies and work through with us what it would mean at your location.