INDIANAPOLIS (WISHTV) — Indiana has put $1 million toward hyperbaric oxygen therapy research.
Indiana was the first state to use public funds for what is considered experimental, or off-label, treatment of traumatic brain injuries. The program was just getting started when the coronavirus pandemic hit.
A multicolored brain scan from the first Indiana veteran enrolled in the program is one of the many pieces being collected by the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering on Purdue University’s campus is conducting the research.
The pandemic slowed the research to a crawl and eventually most of the volunteers dropped out the program. For the research to be complete, the researchers need 39 more veterans to sign up.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy, or what is commonly called HBOT, has not been approved for traumatic brain injuries by the Veterans Administration. Art Terlup, a former Air Force captain, is administering the research program. “I would almost say holistic ways to that do work that don’t require four different prescription to do this thing as a scientist I remain objective in my assessment of it, but there this a lot of evidence that this can do good.”