Doctors at the University of Chicago are using a helmet to treat COVID-19 patients who are struggling to breathe.
The hospital's COVID-19 ICU is using the spacesuit-like helmet as an alternative to a ventilator.
"It is like a hyperbaric oxygen chamber," said UChicago Medicine Dr. Bhaki Patel.
Dr. Patel said the hospital is using the helmet "as a strategy to prevent an intubation or a ventilator" for five patients so far.
Two of the nation's top pulmonary doctors, Dr. Patel and Dr. John Kress, have studied the helmets for years in Chicago. The duo found that the device helps critically ill patients breathe better without being intubated.
The clear plastic FDA-approved helmet surrounds the patient's head and pumps oxygen into their lungs at high pressure.
"The way that it feels is if you go on an airplane and they pressurize the cabin," Dr. Patel said.
The doctors said patients who use the helmet instead of a ventilator spend less time in the ICU and have a better rate of survival.
