Dear Friends;
Oxygen concentrators provide supplemental oxygen for many people in the United
States and elsewhere around the world. Concentrators are the most popular stationary
system. However, I much prefer ambulatory systems because they allow patients to
increase their activities of daily living. But, up to the present, concentrators have not been
of sufficiently light weight to allow ambulation.
Now a 9-3/4 lb. battery-powered concentrator is available. It runs off of 12-volt
batteries or electrical current. When it is using external power supply, the batteries are
being constantly charged. This device uses a pulse delivery system through ordinary nasal
cannulae. It appears to be ideal for traveling in cars, buses and trains. It is likely that this
concentrator will also be approved for use in airplanes because it does not create oxygen,
it only concentrates it. It draws only a small amount of power and does not operate at high
pressures.
This same device may be useful in aircraft emergencies where decompression
takes place. The cabin attendants, who need to be able to help their passengers,
particularly in emergencies, might well be able to use the portable concentrator. What
about the passengers? The newest jumbo jets are being equipped with oxygen supply via
a huge concentrator, a system to serve all passengers when cabin pressure is lost. Thus if
there is an emergency over the ocean, the plane may well be able to continue flying at a
high enough altitude, i.e., 18-20K feet, where it still functions efficiently, and thus
conserves enough fuel to reach the final destinations. The pilots, of course, would have to
have their own pure oxygen supply, which is well within engineering capabilities of existing
equipment.
Thus, new technologies that are continuing to be developed for patients with
COPD and related disorders, who have chronic stable oxygen deficits, may also be useful
for passengers and cabin attendants on high.
I will be in touch next month.
Your friend,
Thomas L. Petty, M.D.
Professor of Medicine, UCHSC
Co-Chairman, National Lung Health Education Program
