The Duke Hyperbaric, Diving, and Altitude Program is a component of the Duke Center for Hyperbaric Medicine and Environmental Physiology. Our core facility is a multi-chamber hypo-hyperbaric complex with adjoining labs and clinical space.

The program’s multidisciplinary team provides services that include:

• Treating patients who require hyperbaric oxygen therapy
• Providing information and medical services to recreational divers through the Divers Alert Network (DAN)
• Assessing the fitness of prospective divers
• Performing follow-up evaluations of divers who have experienced decompression illness
• Using simulated altitude to assess patients whose medical conditions could put them at risk for flying

We also conduct research in the fields of oxygen biology and environmental physiology, some of which is funded by the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute.

Learn about the history of the Duke Center for Hyperbaric Medicine and Environmental Physiology.

Divers Alert Network

A non-profit organization created in 1980, the Divers Alert Network (DAN) promotes the safety of recreational diving by gathering data about diving accidents and deaths, conducting research, and educating divers.

DAN also operates a first-of-its-kind, 24-hour phone service to assist injured divers throughout the world.

For emergencies, call 919-684-8111 or 919-684-4DAN (4326) collect. For non-emergency medical questions, call 919-684-2948 Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST.

Researchers from Duke and DAN gather medical, physiological, and dive data, and share it with other dive safety and healthcare experts. This collaboration has served to:

• Decrease injuries and deaths among divers
• Highlight the need to treat patients with diseases induced by gas bubbles
• Increase awareness and understanding of both the benefits and toxic effects of oxygen