Portable Oxygen Concentrators
Since the year 2000 a number of companies have produced portable oxygen concentrators. Typically, these devices produce one to five liters per minute of oxygen, and they use some version of pulse flow or "demand flow" to deliver oxygen only when the patient is inhaling. However, there are a few portable oxygen concentrators that produce up to three liters per minute of oxygen continuously such as the Invacare Solo2 or SeQual Eclipse. Also, they can provide pulses of oxygen either to provide higher intermittent flows or to reduce the power consumption.
These portable concentrators typically plug into an electrical outlet like the larger, heavier stationary oxygen concentrators.
Portable oxygen concentrators usually can also be plugged into the DC outlet of a vehicle, and most of these devices have the ability to run from electric batteries, also, for ambulatory use. Concerning for airline travel, The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of the United States has approved the use of portable oxygen concentrators on commercial airlines. However, users of these devices should check in advance as to whether a particular brand or model is permitted on a particular airline. Unlike in commercial airlines, users of aircraft without cabin pressurization need oxygen concentrators which are able to deliver enough flowrate even at high altitudes, such as OXYFLY.
Usually, "demand" or pulse-flow oxygen concentrators are not used by patients while they sleep. There have been problems with the oxygen concentrators not being able to detect when the sleeping patient is inhaling. Some larger portable oxygen concentrators are designed to operate in continuous-flow mode in addition to pulse-flow mode. Continuous-flow mode is considered safe for night use when coupled with a CPAP machine.
Read more about this topic: Oxygen Concentrator
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