As India battles a huge increase in Coronavirus cases during the second wave, there is an increased demand for oxygen, with hospitals unable to meet the demand, resulting in the death of patients in many cases. Consequently, the demand for oxygen concentrators is increasing.

What is an Oxygen Concentrator?

Oxygen concentrators work in a similar manner to oxygen tanks in that they supply oxygen directly to the patient through the same nasal cannula or tube. However, wherein oxygen tanks include a determined quantity of pressurized oxygen, concentrators accumulate oxygen from the encompassing air, accumulating it, after which it is supplied to the affected person, getting rid of the want for an alternative or refilling.

“They work on the formulae of ‘quick pressing factor swing ingestion’ which is the place where the nitrogen is eliminated from the air utilizing zeolite minerals which assimilate the nitrogen, leaving different gases to go through and leaving oxygen as the essential gas. When the oxygen is gathered, the pressing factor at that point drops which permits nitrogen to desorb and be ousted once more into the air through silencers,” Mahesh Pokhriyal, an expert in Medical Technology, New Delhi.

“There are no refilling restrictions on oxygen concentrators. It extracts oxygen from the atmosphere, allowing for an infinite supply of oxygen before electricity is available. Since cylinders may often leak and oxygen saturation increases the risk of fire, an oxygen concentrator is a safer choice than using oxygen cylinders”, GreenHand Medical’s HOD and Senior Consultant Pulmonology Dr Shammi Kanaujia said.

Things to Consider Before Buying an Oxygen Concentrator

Oxygen concentrators can produce oxygen that is up to 95% pure. It also has built-in oxygen sensors that can detect whether purity levels are dropping. The oxygen content of normal air is 21%. The concentrator takes in ambient air, filters nitrogen and other gases, and compresses the remaining oxygen before releasing it through the cannula.

Before considering any of these factors, keep in mind, that getting 90% pure oxygen should be your chief object.

1. Oxygen concentrators come in two versions, small (5 to 10 kg) oxygen concentrators suitable for COPD patients, and medium (15 to 19kg) and large (20kg and above) oxygen concentrators are suitable for COVID patients requiring critical care.
2. Small oxygen concentrators can have options from 1 Litre to 9 Litre Flow but this does not mean you get 90% oxygen at higher flow, like at 5 Litres. In small oxygen concentrators, 90% oxygen concentration is achieved only at lower flows of 1 to 2 liters. On higher flows, the oxygen concentration drops to 30% as you increase the flow, which is suitable for COPD patients but not for COVID patients.
3. Check the specifications of the oxygen concentrator and if you see 90% – 30% or (1L/min, 2L/min) means 90% oxygen is available only at 1Litre flow or 2Litre flow respectively and on higher flows, oxygen drops to 30%. The air we breathe includes 29% oxygen. So small (5kg to 10kg) oxygen concentrators at higher flows give an output of 30% oxygen means it’s just blowing air.
4. Weight is largely the best indicator to understand oxygen production capacity.

Reports suggest, “If the patient is given 1 liter of oxygen via the concentrator, the oxygen percentage (or fraction of inspired air) in the lungs rises to 24 percent, 2 liters to 28 percent, and 10 liters to 60 percent,” according to the study. The liters of oxygen per minute must be adjusted according to need.”

Oxygen concentrators are more convenient than oxygen cylinders because they are compact and easy to use. They are more expensive than cylinders, but they need very little maintenance.

The only ongoing costs are for electricity consumption and the replacement of disposable filters and sieve beds after years of use. Make sure your needs are in tandem with the specifications you are being sold, and if required, please ask your supplier to testify the oxygen output on an oxygen analyzer at the higher flow of 5 liters or 10 liters.

Servotech offers two models of oxygen concentrators, 5 Litre, which is immediately available, and, 10 Litre, which can be made available in 10 working days.