Hi friends!!!

In our previous blogs we have discussed about Medical Device Product Life Cycle, Telemedicine, Infant Incubator. Please check out for the link below.

Today we are going to discuss about Oxygen Concentrator.

In current situation of COVID, Oxygen Concentrator is a important life saving device. Being a healthcare professional, its important to know in detail about Oxygen Concentrator.

Let's get into the topic.

WHAT IS OXYGEN CONCENTRATOR?

The Oxygen Concentrator is a medical device used to deliver oxygen to patients suffering from breathing related problems. The Oxygen Concentrator is used when oxygen level in patients’ blood stream is lower than the normal level.

The oxygen level is usually measured using SpO2. The normal level of oxygen in body ranges from 95%-100%. The oxygen level of 94% or below can be considered as lower oxygen saturation level.

The Oxygen Concentrator has housing which consists of compressor, filters, tubing, nasal cannula and face mask. The portable Oxygen Concentrator has a battery attached.

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HOW DOES OXYGEN CONCENTRATOR

WORKS?

The Oxygen Concentrator gathers the surrounding atmospheric air and passes it onto the series of filters to remove dust particles and other contaminants. The Oxygen Concentrator then compresses it to the required density and delivers atmospheric oxygen as purified medical grade oxygen into a delivery system. From delivery system, oxygen is passed to the patients via special mask or nasal cannula attached to patients face. The delivery system can be pulsed delivery system or continuous delivery system.

The air we breathe contains 79% of nitrogen and 21% of oxygen. The Oxygen Concentrator has two cylinders which has an inbuilt sieve beds. One of these cylinders is used to remove nitrogen gas from atmospheric air and deliver purified medical grade oxygen. The other cylinder is used to expel the absorbed nitrogen into the atmosphere. The Oxygen Concentrator has a user interface where users can adjust the level of oxygen concentration and delivery settings.

WHAT ARE THE TYPES OF OXYGEN CONCENTRATOR?

There are two types of oxygen concentrator, Portable oxygen concentrator and Stationary oxygen concentrator. The key difference between stationary and portable oxygen concentrator are oxygen output, size & weight, power source, price.

PORTABLE OXYGEN CONCENTRATOR

The portable oxygen concentrator has two types of delivery settings, pulsed and continuous flow delivery settings. The pulsed mode is used to deliver oxygen only when patients inhale. These types of pulsed mode portable oxygen concentrators are more compact in design and have more battery life. The portable oxygen concentrator can be used with multiple forms of power sources, AC and DC.

STATIONARY OXYGEN CONCENTRATOR

The stationary oxygen concentrator has continuous flow delivery system. The continuous flow mode delivers constant air flow continuously. This type of oxygen concentrator is required for patients in need of oxygen even during sleep. The stationary oxygen concentrator have higher oxygen output and lower cost.

ADVANTAGES OF OXYGEN CONCENTRATOR

The modern day Oxygen Concentrator has more advantage over traditional oxygen tanks because the traditional oxygen tanks may cause fire when there is a leak.

The traditional oxygen tanks are large in size and difficult to move. In case of modern-day Oxygen Concentrator, it is easy to move and are available in portable form to be used everywhere.

DISADVANTAGES OF OXYGEN CONCENTRATOR

The main disadvantage of oxygen concentrator is that it requires electrical power to function. However, this problem can be solved in portable oxygen concentrator as it have battery backup.

Now I hope you have acquired some knowledge about Oxygen Concentrator. We will meet again with another valuable topic related to Biomedical Engineering, Medical Device, Healthcare.

NOTE: Dear friends!!!... Please do comment a topic related to Biomedical, so that we can discuss it in future blogs.

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