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Oxygen Concentrator Testing

Oxygen Concentrator Testing

About Oxygen Concentrators

Patients with chronic or acute respiratory and lung conditions can benefit from oxygen therapy. Oxygen therapy is the delivery of supplemental oxygen to a patient for medical treatment. In the past, patients on oxygen therapy would need to use oxygen tanks – canisters filled with a set volume of oxygen, which would have to be refilled or replaced once the oxygen was used up.

Today, patients can use oxygen (O₂) concentrators, which continuously filter nitrogen out of the ambient air in order to supply an oxygen-rich gas stream to the user. Oxygen concentrators are considered a safer, more convenient, and more cost-effective alternative to tanks of oxygen or pressurized cylinders and are used both in hospitals and in patients’ homes.

Portable oxygen concentrators are a relatively recent development in oxygen delivery, originally introduced in the early 2000s. These devices have gained popularity with technological advances that have made them smaller, lighter, and better performing. The availability of healthcare reimbursements and the ability to bring them onto airplanes have also increased the use of portable O₂ concentrators.

Oxygen Delivery Methods

Oxygen concentrators use two main oxygen delivery methods – pulse dose (PD) oxygen delivery and continuous flow (CF) oxygen delivery. Most O₂ concentrators operate using a single delivery method (either PD or CF), however there are concentrator models in the market that are capable of functioning in both modes.

Continuous Flow Delivery

Continuous flow oxygen concentrators deliver oxygen at a constant rate regardless of the patient’s breathing. Most at home or stationary concentrators use continuous flow delivery. CF oxygen concentrators are often great solutions for patients with sleep apnea or other conditions in which oxygen is required at night. Providing continuous flow requires a larger molecular sieve and pump/motor assembly plus additional electronics which can increase the device’s size and weight.

Continuous flows are measured as the flow rate in liters per minute (L/min) and devices typically offer multiple flow settings for patients to choose from. Flow rates can vary from 1 to 10 Standard L/min although approximately 70% of patients are prescribed 2 Standard L/min or less of oxygen.

TSI low flow meter model 5200-2: ideal for testing and calibrating oxygen concentrators with continuous flows

Measures oxygen or mixed air/O₂ gas flows with 2% of reading accuracy
Provides bi-directional flow measurement that ranges from +/- 30 L/min
Makes flow measurements in standard or volumetric flow conditions
Added totalizer measurement can aggregate flow rate to provide total inhaled volume

Pulse Dose Delivery

Pulse dose oxygen concentrators deliver oxygen based on the user’s breathing/inhalation pattern. Pulse dose concentrators use an oxygen conserver and other technology to customize the oxygen delivery to the user’s breath rate. This makes the oxygen delivery system more efficient which can result in smaller-size equipment with increased battery run time. Pulse dose O₂ concentrators are typically recommended for low oxygen patients who require ≤ 2 Standard L/min of oxygen.

Pulse doses (PD) are measured in milliliters (mL) and they can vary in size and rate. PD O₂ concentrators typically provide multiple pulse dose settings for patients to choose from.

TSI low flow meter model 5210-2: ideal for testing and calibrating O₂ concentrators with a pulse dose delivery system

Provides bi-directional flow measurements at +/-30 L/min
Makes precise volume measurements of pulse doses varying in size or frequency
Measures the flow rate or volume of oxygen or air/oxygen mixes with 2% of reading accuracy
Delivers measurement readings in milliliters (mL), liters (L), or cubic feet (ft³)

Combined Delivery, Pulse Dose and Continuous Flow

Combining pulse dose and continuous flow oxygen delivery allows the oxygen concentrator to meet a wider range of patient needs. These dual-supply concentrators can provide a larger volume of oxygen than smaller pulse units, however they need a more robust battery and they are heavier than pulse dose oxygen concentrators.

TSI low flow meter model 5210-2: ideal for testing oxygen concentrators that can produce both pulse dose and continuous flow oxygen delivery

Provides volume measurements of pulse doses varying in size or frequency
Measures the flow rate and volume of oxygen or air/oxygen mixes
Delivers flow rate and volume measurements in milliliters (mL), liters (L), or cubic feet (ft³)
Logs raw measurement data at 1 ms resolution and easily export as .csv files

Research and Development

TSI low flow meter model 5230-2: a great tool for oxygen therapy research and development (R&D) applications

Makes precise volume and flow rate measurements with a +/- 1.7% of reading accuracy
Measures the temperature, pressure, and humidity of the gas flows
Compensates flow measurements to ensure accuracy in varying operating conditions
Uses both standard and volumetric units for flow measurements, with customizable gas temperature and pressure standard conditions
Logs all measurement data time at 1 ms resolution synchronized with easy export as .csv files