Home appliances is a dynamic and rapidly growing segment of medical technology. According to the bureau Grand View Research, it is increasing by 6.1% annually, while the overall medical equipment market is growing by 5.9%. The request for home equipment is since humanity is aging. For example, in the United States, the largest market for home medical equipment, about 15% of the population is over 65 years old. Many of them have chronic illnesses, mobility problems, and home equipment is designed to relieve the sick.
Oxygen concentrators are electrical devices that separate oxygen from room air. They are intended for use in hospitals and homes. The device delivers oxygen at a very high concentration. Numerous studies have shown that this oxygen equipment is equivalent to all other oxygen supply systems.
The air is passed through several filters. First, the dust filter is activated, after which the bactericidal filter completes its work, and the air passes into the compressor, from where it enters the columns with zeolite under pressure. From these columns, oxygen with a concentration of about 92% enters the accumulator and then passes through the regulator and humidifier. After all this, oxygen is delivered to the patient. Hospital oxygen equipment has gained popularity long ago, and now portable oxygen concentrators are available.
Oxygen productivity per minute
If oxygen therapy is not needed for a long time (up to several hours a day). Then, most likely, a model with an oxygen flow of up to three liters per minute will be sufficient, i.e., in the characteristics, it is necessary to look for the parameter: oxygen concentration at the outlet with a flow of three liters per minute is not less than 90%. Or a three-liter oxygen concentrator. Today, the oxygen equipment market offers a wide variety of devices that differ in functionality, performance, and mobility. Home use concentrators are certainly smaller compared to hospitals and hospital equipment. However, the weight and size of the devices pose some obstacles to movement. That is why a significant proportion of people increasingly prefer portable oxygen concentrators.
The principle of operation of a portable model is the same as that of a stationary one: an electrical device extracts oxygen from the air by passing it through zeolite filters that retain nitrogen, inert gases, and impurities. The difference between the units lies in their weight, dimensions, and mobility, which determined the high demand for this oxygen equipment model.
The device is characterized by its compact size and high autonomy, which allows the patient undergoing therapy not to be limited in movement. You can take a portable concentrator on a trip, live an active life and not be tied to the place of therapy, because you can take everything you need with you.
Benefits of portable hubs and their characteristics
It is risky to store oxygen cylinders, which have become popular at home. Since such a container is explosive, it should not be kept near open fire sources or in direct sunlight. Moreover, prescribing oxygen procedures for oneself runs the risk of getting hyperoxia – oxygen poisoning. According to the experts, this condition occurs after inhalation of oxygen under pressure. It is fraught with disturbances in the functioning of the respiratory system, blood circulation, and the central nervous system. Hyperoxia symptoms are dizziness, nausea and vomiting, hand tremors, prolonged blindness, alternation of euphoria and lethargy, drowsiness, frequent breaths, and convulsions.
It is noteworthy that the WHO considers oxygen concentrators as salvation for developing countries that do not have enough resources to purchase and maintain adequate ventilation. According to the latest information, UNICEF has already ordered about 16 thousand hubs for about 90 countries but has so far been able to supply about 700 copies.
Recommendations for the safe use of oxygen differ depending on the purpose of use, and the oxygen concentration should vary with the patient’s age and condition. In conjunction with an oxygen concentrator, pulse oximetry must be performed to determine the level of oxygen in the blood in order to use oxygen in treatment safely.
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