Oxygen Smart

Portable Oxygen Systems

Posted by admin - 28/11/08 at 05:11 pm

The age of the cumbersome, heavy and large oxygen systems has passed, so unless bedridden you do have good, practical options for a portable oxygen system.

You must always follow your physician’s advice and based on a diagnosis.

There are three different types of oxygen supply storage systems where the oxygen is supplied to the patient generally through a tube (known as a nasal cannula) or through a mask.

The three systems are:

1. Portable oxygen Cylinders. (High-pressure cylinders). These basically hold pure oxygen in its natural form, stored under pressure in a cylinder. There are various weights available although 8.5 lbs appears to be the most used one, followed by lighter weighing cylinders (down to 4lbs).
2. Liquid oxygen tanks. (Liquid oxygen units). Oxygen is kept as a liquid at a temperature of -170 degrees Celsius. In the lower part of the tank the liquid oxygen is stored, and a smaller area above is where the oxygen has evaporated into gas. A control valve is opened to supply oxygen to the patient. Portable liquid oxygen tanks vary in size, based on their weight – when full it will be between 6 and 11 lbs. The portable system is refillable, which in turn requires a storage reservoir unit that remains in a permanent place in the home.
3. Oxygen concentrators. Portable concentrators are a recent alternative dating since 2002. An oxygen concentrator extracts and separates oxygen from the air (the air we breathe contains approximately 21% oxygen, 78% nitrogen, and 1% other gases). The result is a constant supply of oxygen for patient use. There are various portable alternatives that are either battery powered or can be plugged in directly – some can be plugged into the cigarette lighter port in cars.

Oxygen supply duration from portable oxygen cylinders and liquid oxygen containers will vary according to the pulse flow, the size, and the psi. Oxygen concentrators supply duration will depend on the power sources, which on battery operated systems can be from 5 to 8 hours.

Always remember that oxygen therapy must be prescribed by your physician.

This entry was posted on Friday, November 28th, 2008 at 5:16 pm and is filed under Portable Oxygen. The entry is tagged under Portable Oxygen, portable oxygen concentrators, portable oxygen systems, portable oxygen tanks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.