[Evaluation of the FREEDOM O2, DC Concentrator, a portable oxygen concentrator capable of operating under car battery power].
The FREEDOM O2 DC Concentrator, an oxygen concentrator which can be powered by a car battery, was evaluated. The oxygen concentrator was used by a 67 year-old man with sequelae of pulmonary tuberculosis who was receiving long-term oxygen therapy at home (HOT), and whose work required automobile trips over long distances. The equipment used was an adsorption-type oxygen concentrator capable of operating on a DC 12 V power supply, and which can be powered from a residential power outlet (AC 100 V) using a dedicated voltage converter. The trunk-shaped equipment measured 21/584 x 42 cm and weighed 17 kg. The noise level of the equipment was 58.2 +/- 2.5 dB (at 1 meter), and the flow rate can be set to 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 l/min.


RESULTS
1) The O2 concentration which can be generated by this equipment is 93 +/- 3% (0.25 to 1.5 l/min) or 90 +/- 2.8% (2.0 l/min). 2) Using this equipment, the patient was capable of driving himself in comfort for two hours or longer. Further, it was possible to stay in a hotel during a trip, inhaling oxygen generated by the equipment. Hereafter, this equipment should enable or facilitate long-distance driving, travel and lodging for HOT patients.
Nakamoto
T
T
First Department of Internal Medicine, Dokkyo University School of Medicine, Tochigi, Japan.
Nakamachi
T
T
Hase
T
T
Okamoto
S
S
Kisiro
I
I
Kuga
H
H
Onuma
N
N
Harasawa
H
H
Kato
S
S
Kaneko
N
N
D000368:Aged; D001334:Automobile Driving; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010102:Oxygen Inhalation Therapy / Q000295:instrumentation*; D012131:Respiratory Insufficiency / Q000628:therapy*; D014397:Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / Q000150:complications