Portable Oxygen Concentrators Are In Demand

According to a recent study conducted by Wintergreen Research, the worldwide market for portable oxygen concentrators is expecting continued growth through 2019. This in part due to the baby-boomer population and the need for homecare oxygen therapy. Plus, the number of manufacturers and model choices have increased substantially over the past decade.

This increased need has been the catalyst for improvement in the technology and the demand for portability. Well known as the generation that likes to move about, baby boomers are not satisfied to stay at home next to an oxygen tank; thus, the demand for portability. And, as weight decreases and battery life increases on these units, there seems to be no limit on mobility today.

In addition to mobility, portable oxygen concentrators are much safer than using traditional oxygen tanks. Basically, they eliminate the possibility of leaks which can cause fires and or explosions. And because of this, POC's are approved by the FAA and accepted on most domestic and international flights. Other common places for use are emergency rooms, military field operations, and certain industrial applications. Industrial application concentrators are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration for medical use.

There are several companies who now manufacturer POCs. Pulse-dose technology is a relatively new development in oxygen therapy that is incorporated in most new oxygen concentrators. Traditionally, oxygen concentrators have provided a continuous supply of oxygen regardless of whether the patient was inhaling or exhaling. A pulse-dose system delivers oxygen in fixed increments that correspond to the inhalation component of a patient's breathing cycle. In doing so, pulse-dose technology prevents oxygen from being wasted and increases efficiency of an oxygen concentrator. Pulse-dose technology is particularly important in portable oxygen concentrators, which have limited storage.

The typical oxygen concentrator consists of an air compressor, two cylinders filled with zeolite pellets, a pressure equalizing reservoir, valves and tubing. Normal room air is approximately pumped into a cylinder where the nitrogen and carbon dioxide are absorbed by the pellets and 90%+ pure oxygen is pumped into a reservoir. As the oxygen is depleted in one cylinder, it then releases the nitrogen back into the air. At this time the other cylinder goes through the same process. Together, they create an alternating flow of oxygen into the reservoir where it stays until the user breathes.