Choosing a portable oxygen generator

If you or someone close to you has been told by their doctor that they need oxygen supplementation, you've probably discovered that there is a wide range of equipment available. Revolutionary advances in portable oxygen technology mean the end of oxygen tanks, and provide the freedom to maintain normal work and recreational activities. This brief introduction will help you understand the questions you need to ask as you move toward selecting the right device for your needs.

At sea level, dry pollution-free air is composed of approximately 21 percent oxygen, 78 percent oxygen, 0.9 percent argon, 0.03 percent carbon dioxide, and minute traces of a dozen other elements. Our bodies need only the oxygen; we simply inhale and exhale the other components of air without using them.

When you have oxygen supplementation, you wear a clear, flexible oxygen tube (a "cannula") connected to either an oxygen tank or a generator. The cannula delivers extra oxygen into each breath you take, resulting in your lungs receiving a much higher percentage of oxygen with each breath. Greater physical and mental energy are the result of adequate oxygenation.

Until recently, supplemental oxygen for respiratory disorders was only available in tanks. Heavy and flammable, these tanks were hard to move around and they limited the activity of the person who extra oxygen. Smaller tanks could be pulled along on a cart, but these carts were awkward. Even something as common as airline travel was suddenly off-limits.

Portable oxygen generators (or "concentrators") created a revolution for patients needing oxygen supplementation, because they use electricity or battery power to concentrate oxygen out of the surrounding air and deliver it through the nasal cannula. No storage tanks are , because any time these devices are turned on they concentrate fresh oxygen from the air at the exact rate. (Larger stationary oxygen concentrators are available for the home, so tanks are seldom used).

First, it's good to know that you will have plenty of guidance in weeding through the large selection that is available to you. Your practitioner will give you a prescription that specifies a flow rate of litres per minute of oxygen, and from there you can review the equipment options that would fulfil that prescription.

Your doctor will prescribe a certain flow rate of litres per minute, tailored to your individual health needs. The smallest portable oxygen systems weigh less than 1.5 kilograms, and can be carried like a camera bag over one shoulder. Larger portable devices can weigh up to 10 kg, with the larger ones on wheels like a wheeled suitcase.

These portable systems typically deliver oxygen in a "pulse dose," in which a tiny puff of extra oxygen is added to each breath you take. Battery life ranges from one hour to twelve hours, with the larger batteries weighing more. These batteries can be recharged by a regular AC electrical outlet or a car's cigarette lighter.

All portable oxygen generators have a range of settings, so you can customize the oxygen delivery to your prescription and your activity level. Best of all, you can't run out of oxygen with these devices and you don't need to schedule delivery of tanks. While the need for supplemental oxygen is an adjustment to everyday life, it's good to know that such a prescription no longer means the end of one's freedom to work and travel.