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Many of you might be wondering what an oxygen concentrator might be because someone you may know or yourself might be in use for one. If you happen to have a low level of oxygen in your blood an oxygen might be an ideal choice for you. An oxygen concentrator works in similar ways as a window air conditioner: takes air and modifies it to a concentrated form, so people with lower oxygen levels can easily filter in and out oxygen. Oxygen concentrators allow people to easily undergo oxygen therapy.
A more complex explanation of how it works would be: The oxygen concentrator first takes in the air from its surroundings, then proceeds to compress the air while simultaneously the cooling mechanism keeps the device from overheating. The next step is to go on to removing nitrogen from the air since 78% of the air we breathe contains nitrogen and it only makes sense to lower these levels for individuals with conditions that cause them to be unable to filter oxygen properly. Using the filter and sleeve beds you can breathe up 95% oxygen, which is a huge jump from our regular 21%. The Oxygen Concentrator then allows you to breathe the highly concentrated oxygen through a nasal cannula. Keep in mind that in order to produce large volumes of oxygen; you will need to acquire the continuous flow units. The models must have very large compresses and very large sieve beds in order to absorb as much oxygen as possible. Respironic’s everflo oxygen concentrator is an example of a unit that does this very well.
In this case, the device must have larger batteries to properly power the unit. The pulse flow oxygen concentrators are not typically used by patients as these machines are not designed to be able to detect when they’re are sleeping. Other than that the pulse flows functions in more or less the same way as the continuous flow units just that they are easier to carry around as they are smaller. Imagine having to carry around an oxygen tank all the time. The continuous flow units are measured by liters per minute this type of measurement is not applicable to the pulse units because they do not produce the oxygen at a constant rate.
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Air is a combination of many gasses. Mainly it contains oxygen and nitrogen. Oxygen is very important for the metabolic processes occurring in our body, it is also vital for the functionalities of cells and tissues. The amount of oxygen present in a room is normally 21%. This amount of oxygen is perfectly adequate for the healthy people but there are some patients who need a little more oxygen than the average people. This may be due to a disease or some other lung problems, to overcome this need for extra oxygen, the doctors have suggested a therapy known as oxygen therapy. It is a treatment in which patients are given extra oxygen, to fulfill their oxygen needs.
In Oxygen therapy, the oxygen is supplied to the patients in a container or metal cylinder. It is delivered in one of the following three ways:
Our respiratory system consists of lungs and airways, windpipe. The air is inhaled through the mouth and taken to the lungs through the airways and windpipe. The airways carry oxygen to the lungs and take back waste carbon dioxide. Our lungs consist of thousand of bronchioles, at the end of each bronchiole there are groups of air sacs known as alveoli. The alveoli are covered with tiny blood capillaries. The oxygen in the air is absorbed by the air sacs and then it is passed into the blood stream. Portable oxygen concentrators allow you to get enough oxygen while traveling. Certain diseases affect the transfer of oxygen from the air sacs to the blood stream. The air sacs are not able to absorb sufficient amount of oxygen from the air. Some of these diseases are chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pneumonia and so on. Oxygen therapy can help patients function more actively. It reduces the shortness of breath and increases the life span of COPD patients. Reference Video:
As the weather gets cold the air becomes dry, which can cause problems like dry skin, dry throat, bloody nose, cracked lips, dry coughs, nose irritation and so on. People are prone to various discomforts when the air becomes dry in winters and when they use air conditioners. The humidifier is a device that is used to increase humidity by producing moisture in the air. Basically, humidifier is a device that emits water vapors in the air to make the atmosphere humid and alleviate various winter discomforts.
.Using a humidifier can be very beneficial. It reduces the risk of infection because the bacteria cannot travel much, in moist air. The dry skin becomes soft and vibrant, in the presence of a humidifier. The houseplants are also well maintained in a moist air. When the air becomes dry you mostly experience static shocks, these are also reduced when there is moisture in the air. The winter sinus problems are cured through a humidifier. The healing time of wound, coughs and flu’s is also shortened.
Humidifiers have several types. Central Humidifiers: This is a kind of humidifier that keeps the whole house humid. It is built directly in the air-conditioning and heating system of a house. Central humidifiers don’t emit steam. Impeller humidifiers: This humidifier works for single rooms. Impeller humidifiers work by rotating disks at a very high speed to produce cool mists. They are child-friendly because they have no risks of burns. Evaporators: The evaporators also work for single rooms. They work by blowing air through wet filters. Steam vaporizer: As the name indicates, steam vaporizers work by releasing steam into the air. The water is heated and then cooled off, to release it in the form of steam. They are not very child-friendly because they carry the risk of burning. Ultrasonic humidifiers: These humidifiers use ultrasonic mists to produce cool moisture. They are child-friendly. Risks: Humidifiers are good for health and environment but it is necessary to remember that ideal humidity must be maintained to avoid condensation and growth of bacteria and virus. Humidifiers must be cleaned on a regular basis to prevent bacterial growth on the insides. Reference Video:
People often need to store oxygen containers for the purpose of home oxygen therapy or portable oxygen therapy. One must keep in mind that the oxygen cylinders must be stored and handled very carefully.
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We all know that the humans and mammals breathe through lungs, but for the lungs to work properly it is essential that they must be dry. Lungs cannot function if they contain any kind of external fluid. That is the reason humans and other animals cannot breathe underwater. Now we have to wonder how do the fish breathe under water? Do they have something else to breathe underwater, instead of lungs? The answer to that question is ‘Yes’, the fish have gills that help them breathe underwater.
Almost all the creatures in the world need oxygen to breathe. The gills actually separate the oxygen from the water, which is utilized by the fish’s body. In fish, the water enters the mouth and is forced over the gills. Gills are very light and feathery organs, that are divided into groups called epithelium. Epitheliums have countless tiny blood vessels. A set of 4 gills is present on either side of the fish’s mouth. The concentration of oxygen in the water is very high. According to the concentration gradient, something moves from a point of higher concentration to a point of lower concentration. The concentration of oxygen in the water is higher than that present in the vessels. So the dissolved oxygen present in the water moves through the blood vessels, into the blood and the waste products like carbon dioxide are transferred into the water.
The gill filaments are also known as lamellae. They have a large surface area so that maximum oxygen can be absorbed. The blood flows through the lamellae in such a way that the flow of water is always opposite to the flow of blood. This ensures that the concentration of oxygen in the water is always higher than the concentration of oxygen in the blood. The blood becomes oxygenized. This oxygenated blood is transported to all the parts of the fish’s body. The carbon dioxide in the blood is passed out through the gill flaps and into the water. Active fish have highly developed gills while the less active ones have small gills. Reference Video:
A ventilator is a life support machine that is usedin hospitals for patients who cannot breathe on their own. These machines mainly get oxygen in the lungs and carry out carbon dioxide. It is also known as a respirator.
The first respirator was invented in 1928, it was commonly known as Iron Lung. It used negative pressure ventilation technique. At the time, the polio epidemic was on a rise. They were used by polio patients whose muscles had become paralyzed. Patients were laid inside an airtight chamber while a pump was used to remove the air in it.
Biphasic Cuirass Ventilator was the enhanced form of the Iron Lung, it was improved by John Haven Emerson. Biphasic Cuirass Ventilator was also a negative pressure device. This device worked by strapping a shell-like device over a patient’s chest, a pump forced the patient to breathe in and out by creating a vacuum over the patient’s chest.
The use of mechanical ventilators increased in 1949. It became very helpful in intensive care and anesthesia. As a result, more work was done in this field. By the end of 1950 positive pressure ventilators had been developed which pumped air into the lungs through a face mask. Some of these were hand pumps. The positive pressure devices were better than the negative pressure devices. Roger Manley developed a gas driven ventilator in 1952, which was quite famous until the release of Bird Universal Medical Respirator. Forrest Morton Bird, who was an American inventor and biomedical engineer, developed the bird. He changed the way mechanical ventilation was performed. This piece of unit required no electricity to operate. The real revolution came in 1971 with the introduction of SERVO 900. This machine had the feature of volume control ventilation. In 1979 Model 500A ventilator was designed, it used hyperbaric chambers to ventilate. SERVO 300 came in the market in 1991, it used a new gas delivery system and rapid flow triggering response. Laptop ventilators began to be used in 1999, they were much smaller in size than the previous ventilators and they were useful in terms of mobility. The Servo-i was introduced in 2001. It had many functionalities and modes. A single ventilator model could be used for different type of patients. The development in this field is a continual process. Better equipment will be introduced with the passage of time. Reference Video: |
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