Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Oxygen Systems Part 1

I got such good information about oxygen systems at the ILD Support Group Meeting yesterday. It was a shame to leave the gorgeous coastside but the drive up to the city was easy, I hit green lights the entire way and even found free street parking, a very rare event. One of the members I hadn't seen in almost a year, has been dealing with IPF for nine years. He looked very thin and his wife told me he was not doing well. He has been such a positive, athletic, strong man that it was rather sad to see him looking so frail.

To the systems! This is probably going to take a couple of blogs to get it all in. Thanks to the speaker from a local oxygen supplier for a magnificent handout.

There are three types of oxygen therapies: Gas/tanks, Liquid, Manufactured
     High Pressure Oxygen/Tanks
     Liquid Oxygen Systems
     Concentrators & Home Fill Systems
     Portable Oxygen Concentrators


High Pressure Oxygen Tanks - filled by your vendor, pressurized to 2000 psi to 2200 psi.
Liquid Oxygen System - Filled by your vendor operates at 22 psi.
Manufactured/Concentrators - Makes its own oxygen, draws room air through a molecular material and separates the oxygen from the nitrogen, etc.


High Pressure Oxygen Tanks: 
     Cylinders
     Sizes - Portable: M2-M9, D & E cylinders
     Regulators - Both continuous and pulse dose settings

Liquid Oxygen Systems:
     Reservoirs - come in three sizes, 20, 30 & 40 liters, they can be used as a stationary
          and/or just fill your portable units
     Portables -
          Continuous Units - Companion 1000, Caire, Stroller and Companion T (High Flow),
               Helios Marathon
          On Demand Units - Helios Plus & Helios Marathon
          Pulse Dose - Caire Spirit, Helios Marathon

     Manufactured Oxygen -
          Concentrators - Most units fall into two models, liter flow to 5/6 or 10 lpm. They are on wheels and can be moved around the house.
          Home Fill System - Uses a concentrator with a compressor to provide home oxygen and refill your portable cylinders, so you do not have a wait for a delivery. (Takes hours to fill a tank.)
          Portable Oxygen Concentrators - There are a number of units available. Two have the ability to provide continuous oxygen to 3 lpm and the other are all pulse dose settings of 1-6. They are battery operated and the liter flow/pulse dosage directly correlates with battery life. (The bigger the case, the bigger the batteries.) Only a few are approved for air travel.

So, now that we know what systems are available, tomorrow we will ask the questions to determine which system would work for you!

No comments: