A portable oxygen concentrator has become a "must" for the many people who have COPD and who have need to receive supplemental oxygen. As well this sort of machine is also a godsend for individuals who assist or live using them.
For both the patient and the caretaker, too little oxygen saturation is difficult - the individual must live with either a shortness of breath and all that this entails, or must receive extra oxygen. Inogen who assist, and this could be a family member or someone from the medical profession, must provide help also to do so must know their way round the oxygen machine, in this instance 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 encompassing air. It then delivers the oxygen in a concentrated form, to the individual. An oxygen tank delivers oxygen to the patient from its reservoir or stored oxygen. The essential difference has to do with storage. A tank holds or stores oxygen while a concentrator does not - it delivers the oxygen since 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 depends on its size basically and the oxygen can last a limited time - just how much exactly depends on how full the tank is and the delivery rate. For a portable oxygen concentrator, the delivery can last as long as the machine is turned on.
The next difference also follows on from the previous one. A tank or cylinder that holds oxygen, both compressed or liquid, will deliver oxygen at a certain adjustable rate, using the pressure being released from the tank. Basically it generally does not require yet another power source to deliver the oxygen. A portable oxygen concentrator alternatively delivers the oxygen it really is extracting from the air around it and this 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 may also be connected to the car lighter socket for instance.
These three basic differences may appear small in nature but in reality are the reason 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 members of the family - they are experiencing less demands and have therefore less stress.
In short:
Longer oxygen supply. Even when not plugged in, the battery option that may go from 2 hours onwards with regards to the flow rate and the battery capacity. But with a big change of battery the complete cycle begins again.
The relationship between weight and quantity of oxygen that's stored is not any longer an issue.
There is no need for a refill - this being one of the logistic problems and limitations that used eventually everyone on supplemental oxygen prior to the arrival of portable oxygen concentrators.
Decoration make these machines more portable.
https://rosendal-piper-2.technetbloggers.de/portable-oxygen-concentrators-1707872163 , short distances, long distances or the equivalent in time intervals is much easier. This ease of travel is due to the durability of the oxygen supply and in addition because public carriers (airplanes, trains and buses) have less restraints than they do for oxygen containers.