Portable Oxygen Concentrator Versus Oxygen Tank - A Users Perspective


A portable oxygen concentrator has become a "must" for the countless people who have COPD and who've need to receive supplemental oxygen. Simultaneously Inogen of machine can be a godsend for many who assist or live with them.

For both the patient and the caretaker, too little oxygen saturation is difficult - the individual has to live with either a shortness of breath and all that entails, or must receive extra oxygen. Those that assist, and this is actually a relative or someone from the medical profession, must also provide help and to do so got to know their way around the oxygen machine, in cases like this a portable oxygen concentrator.

There are a few basic differences between an oxygen concentrator and an oxygen tank (either liquid or compressed oxygen) that produce for another approach.

A portable oxygen concentrator extracts oxygen from the surrounding air. It then delivers the oxygen in a concentrated form, to the individual. An oxygen tank delivers oxygen to the individual from its reservoir or stored oxygen. The basic difference is due to storage. A tank holds or stores oxygen while a concentrator does not - it delivers the oxygen as it extracts it.

The difference between a stored and non stored oxygen system has another implication. A tank will deliver the quantity of oxygen it stores. The tanks capacity will depend on its size basically and the oxygen will last a restricted time - how much exactly will depend on how full the tank is and the delivery rate. For a portable oxygen concentrator, the delivery will last as long as the device is turned on.

The next difference also follows on from the prior one. A tank or cylinder that holds oxygen, both compressed or liquid, will deliver oxygen at a particular adjustable rate, based on the pressure released from the tank. Quite simply it does not require yet another power source to provide the oxygen. A portable oxygen concentrator however delivers the oxygen it is extracting from the air around it which extraction is possible because of its power source that makes the extraction mechanism work. Electricity - be it from a battery or due to being plugged in. Portable oxygen concentrators use rechargeable batteries which increases dramatically its possibilities for oxygen delivery and by being plugged in, where many models can even be connected to the automobile lighter socket for instance.

These three basic differences can happen small in nature but in reality are the reason why portable oxygen concentrators haven't only become so popular but also have increased the amount and kind of activities COPD patients are enjoying. From the point of view of caretakers - especially family members - they are experiencing less demands and have therefore less stress.

In short:

Longer oxygen supply. Even when not plugged in, the battery option which can go from 2 hours onwards with regards to the flow rate and the battery capacity. But with a change of battery the whole cycle begins again.

The relationship between weight and quantity of oxygen that is stored is not any longer an issue.

There is no need for a refill - this being among the logistic problems and limitations that used happen to everyone on supplemental oxygen prior to the arrival of portable oxygen concentrators.

Decoration make these machines more portable.

Travel, short distances, long distances or the equivalent in time intervals is a lot easier. This ease of travel is because of the durability of the oxygen supply and also because public carriers (airplanes, trains and buses) have less restraints than they do for oxygen containers.

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Pub: 14 Feb 2024 00:43 UTC
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