Oxygen Concentrators: Stationary and Portable
Posted by admin - 15/12/08 at 09:12 amOxygen concentrators are machines designed to provide oxygen therapy at higher concentrations than are available in the surrounding air.
They are stationary, electrical units that take in nitrogen from the air around you and provide a streaming flow of oxygen.
Before they became available the only options were either aluminum cylinders that store compressed oxygen, or liquid oxygen devices.
They are safer from the point of view of leaks or ruptured tanks, which would increase the risk of combustion.
In many cases a combination of concentrators and cylinders is prescribed.
Concentrators are available as stationary units, or as portable systems, as are compressed oxygen and liquid oxygen systems.
They provide a continuous delivery of oxygen which is not stored in a tank or otherwise. It takes the ambiance air, which at sea level, normally contains 21% oxygen, and removes the nitrogen.
The resulting air being fed to the patient is 95.5% pure oxygen. In practice this turns out to be between 97 and 95% pure oxygen due to the flow settings. (The higher the flow, the less oxygen distributed).
Medicare requires that the oxygen purity be above 85%.
Concentrators are very reliable and easy to maintain. The basic maintenance is to keep the intake filter clean and dust free.
Although oxygen is not flammable as such, it does feed fire and accelerates combustion, therefore it is very important for all oxygen therapies to be far from flammable materials or heat sources.
An obvious recommendation is that no smoking be allowed anywhere near (both from the oxygen point of view and the patient’s health situation).
