The second wave of coronavirus is the foremost battle, which India is going through right now which has raised the demand for oxygen concentrator.
Oxygen concentrator is none other than a small device that supplies supplementary oxygen-enriched air to the people requiring oxygen therapy especially used for patients with lung and other respiratory diseases. The struggle to cope with an acute oxygen crisis being observed in many states including Delhi, Haryana, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, with many hospitals sending SOS messages.
The national capital has witnessed several deaths due to a lack of oxygen support.
When should one use Oxygen Concentrators?
Oxygen Therapy is required immediately in case of covid-19 patients who feel breathless when their oxygen saturation drops below 94% to avoid damage to other body parts.
According to Sunil Khurana, MD and CEO at BPL Medical Technologies in New Delhi stated that Oxygen concentrators play an important role as they supply supplemental oxygen to patients via nasal cannula.
Dr Ravi Shekhar Jha, HOD and Senior Consultant Pulmonology, Fortis Escorts Hospital, Faridabad also shared his views by stating that Oxygen concentrators work like the air conditioning machine which takes the oxygen from the air, modifies it and releases it in a different form. It concentrates the ambient oxygen.
Some of the Common importers and manufacturers of Oxygen Concentrator in India are Phillips, BPL Medical Technologies Ltd, Invacare, AirSep corporation, SS Technologies, Oshocorp Global Pvt Ltd, Medtronic, Inogen, Nidek Medical, Chart Industries.
How do these machines work?
It is an electronically operated device that separates oxygen from room air and provides a high concentration of oxygen directly to you through a nasal cannula.
Khurana said that Clinical studies have documented that oxygen concentrators are therapeutically equivalent to other types of oxygen delivery systems.
The Oxygen concentrators are widely used for oxygen provision in healthcare applications, especially where liquid or pressurised oxygen is too dangerous or inconvenient, such as in homes or in portable clinics.
Sharing point of view on the same Khurana said that They work on the principle of ‘rapid pressure swing absorption’ which is where the nitrogen is removed from the air using zeolite minerals which absorb the nitrogen, leaving the other gases to pass through and leaving oxygen as the primary gas. Once the oxygen is collected, the pressure then drops which allows nitrogen to desorb and be expelled back into the air through silencers.
Irrespective of being Rs40000 to Rs90000 more expensive than cylinders still Oxygen concentrators are portable and easy to use and are thus better than oxygen cylinders along with (Rs 8,000-20,000) minimal maintenance which is power consumption and the disposable filters and sieve beds that need to be replaced over years of usage.
On one hand, Oxygen concentrator devices can be used at the convenience of patients under the supervision of doctors or healthcare workers whereas on the other hand the stand-alone cylinder needs to be refilled and needs utmost care and monitoring as there are chances of leakage and can cause fire accidents.
Jha said that Oxygen concentrators do not have limitations of refilling. It takes oxygen from the air itself, which enables an unlimited supply of oxygen till electricity is available and is more safe option compared to the Oxygen cylinders because cylinders can sometimes leak and oxygen saturation increases the risk of fire.
Khuranna also stated that Oxygen concentrators produce up to 95 per cent pure oxygen along with in-built oxygen sensors which can indicate if purity levels go down.
Continuing on the same khuranna stated that while the total market size in India is 40,000 units, the sudden peak in demand is likely going to affect the quality as there are not enough manufacturers in the country. Most of the devices are manufactured in China and part of raw material is manufactured in the US, India Inc was never prepared to cater to this huge surge in demand.
What are the different types of Oxygen Concentrators?
There are two types of concentrators available in the market. Firstly, Continuous flow oxygen provides the same flow of oxygen every minute unless it is turned off irrespective of whether the patient is breathing it in or not. Secondly, pulse dose oxygen concentrator which detects breathing pattern and dispenses oxygen when it detects inhalation.
What are the Things to be taken into consideration before buying or renting an oxygen concentrator?
Normal air will have 21%oxygen. Concentrator sucks atmospheric air, filter nitrogen and other gases and compresses remaining oxygen dispense it through the cannula. According to the authorized source, it is being stated that If1 a litre of oxygen is provided to the patient through a concentrator, the oxygen percentage (or fraction of inspired air) in lungs rises to 24 per cent, with 2 litres it rises to 28 per cent and with 10 litres it rises to 60 per cent. Depending on the need, the litres of oxygen per minute has to be regulated.
It is important to take a physician’s advice before oxygen to patients and should always keep a pulse oximeter with you.
According to the authorized source, it is being stated that Oxygen concentrators can supply between 0.1 litres per minute (LPM) to 5 to 10 LPM and also a concentrator has 92-95 per cent pure oxygen.
