An oxygen tank’s medical importance to patients with chronic breathing difficulties cannot be overstated. For those requiring supplemental breathing assistance, running out of oxygen is a critical situation to be avoided at all costs. For this reason, most oxygen therapy patients keep a stock of cylinders on hand, sometimes including large tanks for home use and portable medical oxygen tanks for use when away from home. Oxygen tanks have applications for medical use, construction, welding, breathing at high altitudes and also in creating certain mixes for deep sea diving. Doing a quick web search on the phrase “oxygen tanks medical” returns more than half a million hits, indicating plenty of activity in this area. For in-home or portable use by oxygen therapy patients, however, using a medical oxygen tank is definitely on the way out, in favor of new technologies that make it possible to do away with them altogether.

Say Good-bye to Heavy Tanks

An industry leader, Inogen One, has devised a tank-free unit that produces its own oxygen by concentrating the O2 found in the atmosphere into an oxygen-rich, breathable mixture specifically for oxygen therapy patients. It has found immediate acceptance and is preferred by those who have switched from their old cylinder tank systems. Medical oxygen tanks size range and because most people use larger versions, even the portable tanks are a pain. They’re heavy, cumbersome, require regular refilling and have to be stored for future use. Users have to keep a constant eye on the amount remaining in the tank they’re currently using and have to make sure to bring along extra tanks if they’re planning to be away for any period of time. With the Inogen One system, all those problems disappear.