It is one of the most remarkable healing aids in the world of medical science — and for the patient it couldn’t be simpler.Bermuda’s hyperbaric oxygen chamber has helped hundreds of people recover from horrific burns and wounds or crippling diabetes-related injuries which would otherwise lead to amputation.

To find out just how easily a patient can undergo treatment in the state-of-the-art device, Acting Health Minister Philip Perinchief took the plunge and underwent a hyperbaric dive at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital.

And but for some slight discomfort when his ears popped, Mr. Perinchief passed smoothly through a 15-minute session in the chamber, which simulates the pressure felt under 45 to 50 feet of water.

The 22-foot long cylindrical chamber provides a sealed environment in which patients can breathe high-pressure 100 percent oxygen through a mask or hood.

In very general terms, it encourages the healing process by ensuring the maximum amount of oxygen is delivered through the blood to the wound tissue.

Medical director Dr. Edward Schultz said the chamber has produced some astonishing results over the years, churning out 450 treatments a year with a success rate of between 60 and 85 percent.

Burns victims whose faces have seemed like they would be terribly scarred for life have gradually recovered almost beyond belief after a few sessions in the machine.

Others with serious foot wounds which refused to heal due to their diabetic condition have seen them get better almost miraculously — in many cases staving off almost inevitable amputation. It also benefits people suffering effects from radiation treatment, carbon monoxide poisoning, skin grafts and crush injuries.

Treatment costs $1,400 a shot, but medics say it can work out less than flying abroad for similar help.

With this knowledge in mind, Mr. Perinchief joined hospitals chief David Hill and a host of other doctors in undergoing a dive. Packed into the cylinder clad in an anti-bacterial outfit, the Minister remarked he felt like he was among a group of astronauts in a space shuttle ready for take-off.

A quarter of an hour later, the team emerged from the machine declaring only the most trivial of side effects.

“I could definitely feel the pressure and I could feel it in my left ear,” said Mr. Perinchief. “But I always get a bit of pressure when I fly and I was able to clear it. Everything they said was going to happen, happened.”

Mr. Hill said: “You feel the pressure and you have to keep clearing your ears but the doctors and nurses in there tell you exactly what to do.”

As well as treating wounds and burns, the chamber is also used to aid the recovery of diving injuries such as decompression sickness, also known as the bends, or arterial gas embolism. For a country hoping to lure thousands of dive tourists, such a facility is essential.

“It’s worth its weight in gold,” said Mr. Perinchief.

Dr. Schultz said: “We have had success in situations where I really didn’t think the wound was going to heal. I suspect there are more people in the community who could benefit, so it’s really important the word about this equipment gets about.”