The difference between ventilator and oxygen concentrator

The difference between ventilator and oxygen concentrator

According to incomplete statistics, the highest mortality rate from chronic diseases in recent years is not cancer or cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, but respiratory diseases. Mechanical ventilation and correct oxygen supply are the most important means for the treatment of respiratory diseases.

As we all know, both oxygen concentrators and ventilators can improve respiratory conditions. The principle of treatment is to improve and correct hypoxemia, carbon dioxide retention and metabolic dysfunction as soon as possible under the premise of ensuring airway patency, and treat the primary sick. The use of oxygen concentrator with ventilator is an important means to treat respiratory diseases. What is the difference between oxygen concentrator and ventilator? what are the working principles of the ventilator and the oxygen concentrator? when should the oxygen concentrator and the ventilator be used together? and what should be paid attention to when using the oxygen concentrator with the ventilator? Let's learn about these issues together.

1. What is the difference between ventilator and oxygen concentrator?

Ventilator: In modern clinical medicine, the ventilator, as an effective means to artificially replace the autonomous ventilation function, has been commonly used in various causes of respiratory failure, anesthesia breathing management during major operations, respiratory support treatment, and emergency recovery. It occupies a very important position in the field of modern medicine. The ventilator is an important medical device that can prevent and treat respiratory failure, reduce complications, and save and prolong the lives of patients.

Oxygen concentrator: It is a safe and convenient machine for extracting high-concentration pure oxygen. It produces purely physical oxygen. Using PSA pressure swing adsorption technology, it becomes high-purity oxygen after purification. It does not have any breathing mode to choose, and it is suitable for people who have long-term family oxygen therapy rehabilitation care, oxygen health care, respiratory diseases, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, high altitude hypoxia symptoms; or for people who are prone to hypoxia, and people with poor body immunity, or people with heatstroke, gas poisoning, drug poisoning, etc.

How does the home ventilator and the home oxygen concentrator work?

The principle of the home ventilator: the inhalation action produces negative pressure in the chest cavity during autonomous ventilation, and the negative pressure of the alveoli and airway occurs when the lungs are passively expanded, which constitutes the pressure difference between the airway opening and the alveoli to complete the inhalation; the chest and lungs after inhalation Retract elastically and produce an opposite pressure difference to complete exhalation. Therefore, normal breathing is due to the "active negative pressure difference" between the alveoli and the airway orifice generated by the body through the breathing action to complete the inhalation. After inhalation, the thorax and lung elasticity retract to produce the passive positive pressure difference between the alveoli and the airway orifice and exhale , so as to meet the needs of physiological ventilation.

The working principle of the household oxygen concentrator: the use of molecular sieve physical adsorption and desorption technology. The oxygen generator is filled with molecular sieve, which can absorb nitrogen in the air when pressurized, and the remaining unabsorbed oxygen is collected, and after purification treatment, it becomes high-purity oxygen. The molecular sieve discharges the adsorbed nitrogen back into the ambient air when it is decompressed, and can absorb nitrogen and produce oxygen during the next pressurization. The whole process is a periodic dynamic cycle process, and the molecular sieve is not consumed.

In layman's terms, ventilator is to ventilate a patient, and oxygen concentrator is to increase the oxygen content in the inhaled air. The combination of the two can really play a therapeutic role.

When should the oxygen concentrator and ventilator be used together?

For serious diseases such as cardiopulmonary disease, emphysema, heart failure, and respiratory failure, it is necessary to use an oxygen concentrator in conjunction with a ventilator to treat the disease. At this time, the oxygen for patients is a professional rehabilitation treatment method, including flow, concentration, frequency and time of use should follow the advice and guidance of professional medical personnel.

What should be paid attention to when using oxygen concentrator with ventilator?

The oxygen concentrator used with the ventilator must first require a high flow rate, which generally requires above 5L or even 10L. And because the ventilator needs to be worked continuously, the oxygen concentrator must be able to run for a long time, even 24 hours of continuous operation. Secondly, the oxygen concentrator must be equipped with the oxygen concentration detection function, which is very important. Many oxygen concentrators do not have this function. The patient does not know when the oxygen concentration continues to decrease during oxygen inhalation. The milder patient has no effect, but the serious patient is to shorten the lifespan. Finally, the oxygen concentrator parameter requirements, internal configuration, oxygen output pressure, oxygen purity, oxygen stability, etc, must meet the standards of medical rescue.

Generally speaking, when using an oxygen concentrator, it is not necessary to use it with a ventilator, but when using a ventilator, it generally needs to be used together with oxygen concentrator. Therefore, the ventilator cannot replace the oxygen concentrator, the oxygen concentrator also can not replace the ventilator. In some cases, the two must work together.