Oxygen Concentrators Versus Liquid Oxygen Tanks
Due to this disease, patients may require oxygen to breathe. An oxygen concentrator helps maintain adequate oxygenation, without oxygen being depleted. It does not require recharging and takes oxygen from the environment.
The treatment of hypoxemia requires the administration of medicinal oxygen (also called supplemental oxygen), a gas that is part of the World Health Organization (WHO) model list of essential medicines. Medical oxygen not only aims to reverse tissue hypoxia (physiological damage caused by lack of oxygen in a certain tissue) but also increases the chances of survival in patients affected with this condition.
The WHO points out that oxygen concentrators represent an adequate and favorable option to supply oxygen for the treatment of patients in developing countries, especially when cylinders and other conventional systems are inappropriate or unavailable
The oxygen concentrator is a tool that provides patients with a practical, safe and economical solution to be used at home to provide oxygen to patients with respiratory diseases.
The portable oxygen concentrator, It is a device that produces oxygen instantly, without the need to store it inside. This brings notable advantages over the oxygen cylinder, especially in terms of mobility and comfort of use.
The process using the oxygen concentrator is quite simple. The device sucks in the air that surrounds us and separates, through molecular filters, the oxygen from the other gases that make up the air, thus delivering you up to 96% pure oxygen. It is a type of technology based on a material called zeolite, it performs the filtering function and has the property of retaining nitrogen molecules while allowing oxygen molecules to pass through.
Portable oxygen concentrators are equipped with a battery and allow virtually unlimited autonomy thanks to the possibility of charging them anywhere there is a power outlet, even when traveling. The concentrator charges the batteries while it continues to operate, so it does not have to be taken out of use to recharge. Several concentrator models come with batteries that allow you to be without electricity for up to 8 hours.
In the past, patients with respiratory problems such as COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease), Influenza, pneumonia and other respiratory diseases could only resort to using oxygen tanks or cylinders.
It is common to confuse the oxygen concentrator with oxygen tanks.
Oxygen tanks have a certain amount of compressed oxygen in them, meaning they are oxygen containers. They are used to perform respiratory therapies, resuscitate patients (resuscitation), in intensive care units or to administer anesthesia, among others.
The main difference between an oxygen tank and an oxygen concentrator is that the first has a finite amount of compressed oxygen and only contains pre-charged oxygen, it does not produce it, while concentrators have an infinite supply of oxygen, as long as the device being used is connected to a power network. or have a battery that allows you to keep the mechanism active.
Another significant difference is size, oxygen tanks are bulky and heavy (up to 55 kg), while a portable oxygen concentrator is designed to be easily transported, some can weigh less than 2.2 kg giving portability and mobility.
The oxygen concentrator can be used continuously without having to pay attention to refilling. Oxygen tanks can represent a risk if oxygen leaks into the place of use, leaving the environment filled with oxygen, increasing the risk of fire and making it difficult to extinguish the fire.
For their part, oxygen concentrators are safer devices because they provide controlled doses (for example, those that provide pulse doses).
The costs, however, are high, ranging between 25000 and 40000 pesos and in cases of very low saturation, the use of liquid oxygen tanks is likely to be required. It is important to consult your doctor.
