TAMPA, Fla. — A USF professor gained international attention this summer after spending a record 100 days underwater in a fixed habitat. However, after months of publicity, he wants to remind people the mission continues right here in Tampa.
Dr. Joseph Dituri became famous for living in a sea lab 22 feet underwater off the coast of Key Largo, but it was at the Undersea Oxygen Clinic in Tampa where the mission really began six years previously.
“So right now what you have here is someone going in for a hyperbaric treatment. Hyper means more than; baric means pressure,” said the biomedical engineer as he monitored a patient.
Dr. Dituri has witnessed firsthand what a hyperbaric chamber can do for the human body.
“Basically, it’s a natural remedy that speeds healing, it reduces pain, it fights infection,” said Dituri.
So he thought, instead of only using the chamber an hour a day, why not live in one for 100 days?
“So we wanted to go underwater to see what the pressure does to the human body just like the pressure in a hyperbaric chamber,” said Dituri.
Dr. Dituri’s living space may have been tiny, but his outreach was immeasurable.
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“We talked to over 5,000 kids about science, technology, engineering, and math,” said Dituri.
Every day he also found time to go for a swim.
“We discovered two new species of things while we were down there,” said Dituri.
It was the research he started in Tampa that stood out the most. One of the biggest takeaways was that his amount of Rem sleep doubled.
“Sleep affects 50-70 million Americans,” said Dituri.
While his findings are now being shared around the world, he hasn’t forgotten about his patients right here in Tampa Bay, delivering that one on one, in-person, quality care and counseling on a daily basis.
“Do you have to stay underwater for 100 days to get these results? No, you can do it in a hyperbaric medicine facility, in any hyperbaric medicine facility,” said Dituri.
Dr. Dituri is excited to pass on his knowledge and experience to the next generation of Tampa Bay scientists interning at his lab.
“This is something that’s truly altruistic, that is happening for a real reason, that we are really trying to help people,” said Dituri.
