Oxygen Tank

Oxygen tank - Compressed Gas

The medical oxygen tank of compressed gas is the most common method of delivering supplemental portable oxygen. Various size oxygen refills are regularly delivered to your home. Each one has a regulator to control the rate of flow. You connect to these oxygen tanks via your cannula (a breathing device that hooks over your ears and extends into your nose) and oxygen is delivered to your lungs each time you take a breath.

Small oxygen tanks can be carried when you leave home, however one drawback to this approach is that you must always have enough oxygen refills on hand so you don't run out. This also means lots of visits from your medical oxygen provider and lots of oxygen tank sizes to store. Large tanks are heavy and are very difficult to transport easily. A common complaint about an oxygen tank is constantly worrying about running out of oxygen.

Liquid Oxygen tank

Oxygen takes up less space in liquid form than as a gas. This method stores very cold liquid oxygen in a tank, almost -297^·F. You transfer this to a smaller delivery device to use around the house and outside of the house. When the liquid is released, it changes back to a gas so that you can breathe it. Compared to oxygen tanks of gas, liquid oxygen tanks weigh less and can hold more oxygen, however you have to be very careful to avoid injury from the dangerously cold liquid oxygen.

Portable Concentrators

These newer devices take in regular air (which is about 21% oxygen), remove the other gases, and produce oxygen that is up to 96% pure, storing it for you to breathe. You don't have to worry about oxygen tank refills. Many concentrators are small and allow the user much greater independence than other methods of oxygen therapy. Also, some portable concentrators like the Inogen One can be taken on commercial airlines, buses, trains, or cruise ships.

Concentrators don't need to be refilled like oxygen tanks do. Portable concentrators can either be plugged into an electrical outlet or run on battery power, so you never have to worry about running out of oxygen.

The Inogen One System was the first single solution oxygen concentrator. It is designed to provide active oxygen users unparalleled freedom and independence and an ability to live life without the restraints imposed by traditional oxygen therapy devices. It's approved for stationary, portable, and travel use, for daytime and nighttime.