Oxygen Concentrator 101
There has been a huge demand for Oxygen concentrators. This blog is to address key questions regarding O2 concentrators what they can do, how to evaluate various types of concentrators in the market, does it really make sense to buy one for your home and also things to note while using a concentrator.
How do O2 concentrators work?
O2 concentrators have a motor & a compressor which sucks up atmospheric oxygen. The air then passes through various filters to make the air dry and free from dust and bacteria, then a zeolite chamber which absorbs nitrogen and generates a 90–95% O2 concentration. There are various sensors like pressure, flow, O2 concentration and heat sensors which ensures proper working of the concentrator.
Things to note while purchasing an O2 concentrator
> Flow rates & Concentration:
O2 concentrators come at various flow rates from 5 lpm (liters per minute) to upto 12 lpm. What the customers should note is the promised O2 concentration at various levels. some machines promise 85–87% concentration even at 12 lpm. and 90–93% concentration at 4–5lpm.
Many companies mask the performance of the concentrator at higher levels. Its best you use an analyzer to validate, flow pressure and concentration prior to purchase. The seller must necessarily own a test equipment at his end to prove the performance of the device. Some devices come with their own internal testing software to test the flow and concentration.
> Can you run a ventilator with an O2 concentrator output?
The air pressure indicated usually is about 4–70kPa (.4-.7 Bar). This is usually when a pressure meter is attached to the end of the line and there is a pressure buildup in the line. At flow, the pressure is usually about 4 milli bar. To give you a comparison, hospital central piping usually is maintained at 6 bar and O2 Cylinders are filled at a 100 bar — 200 bar pressure depending on the cylinder specs. Ventilators run at input pressure of about 4 bar upwards.
So one cannot run a ventilator with O2 concentrator as a O2 source.
> Use under medical supervision
It is patients should use O2 concentrators only under medical supervision as unsupervised use can result in oxygen toxicity or lung damage owing to higher than required flow rates.
> High Flow rate requirement is an indication for medical intervention
Usually the setting for patients who need O2 supplementation is 2–3 lpm to maintain an SpO2 level of 95%+ on your oximeter. If the patient’s requirement goes above 5lpm to maintain this SpO2 level, do not try to manage the patient with a higher flow rate.then the patient is in immediate need of medical intervention.
> Zeolite filter — usually has varying life from 5000 hours to 30,000 hours. This is the most expensive part of the O2 concentrator. You will start to receive low O2 alarm once this requires replacement. The cost of the concentrator depends on the quality of the Zeolite filter.
Motor / Compressor — Has a life of 10,000 hours to 30,000 hours depending on the make.The cost of the concentrator also depends on the quality of the motor and compressor.
Oxygen Concentrator Maintenance
Coarse dust filter — requires change every month or so under normal conditions. Even more frequently under 24X7 use.
Fine filter or antibacterial filter — usually recommended for change every year. needs to be changed for every patient.
Nasal Cannula — Needs to be changed on a regular basis for a patient. Kindly keep sufficient stock of this.
Humidifier — O2 should always be passed via a humidifier. Output of a concentrator is always dry. O2 concentrator comes with a humidifier. Ensure that there is always water in the humidifier when the concentrator is in use.
Sandeep Naik is the co-founder of Atto Innovations — a company that is influencing engagement models between MedTech companies & hospitals from product discovery to end of life of the device.
The platform has an active community of medical device companies, hospitals, doctors, purchase managers and biomedical engineers — Doctor’s Bazaar, and products such as Atto CMMS — an installed asset & clinical engineering management system for hospitals and Atto Market : an e-commerce application for MedTech industry.
Reach out to us at contactus@doctorsbazaar.com for any queries on this topic.
