A top-down investigation of the possible extension of oxygen concentrator use within Swedish healthcare, with regards to national and global benefits
(2023) BMEM01 20231Department of Biomedical Engineering
- Abstract
- Oxygen concentrators are relatively small medical devices that concentrates oxygen from the ambient air next to the patient. They are widely used in low resource settings and in the home health care. For larger hospitals in Sweden and similar countries however, the most common oxygen source is liquid oxygen and oxygen cylinders, delivered from an off-site supplier. Liquid oxygen is often not an option in countries with scarce resources.
This study aims to explore the opportunity of extending the use of oxygen concentrators. Behind this investigation is the belief that high resource countries could benefit from ideas made for low resource settings, since the goal for both is to find sustainable and cost-efficient solutions. Furthermore... (More) - Oxygen concentrators are relatively small medical devices that concentrates oxygen from the ambient air next to the patient. They are widely used in low resource settings and in the home health care. For larger hospitals in Sweden and similar countries however, the most common oxygen source is liquid oxygen and oxygen cylinders, delivered from an off-site supplier. Liquid oxygen is often not an option in countries with scarce resources.
This study aims to explore the opportunity of extending the use of oxygen concentrators. Behind this investigation is the belief that high resource countries could benefit from ideas made for low resource settings, since the goal for both is to find sustainable and cost-efficient solutions. Furthermore the possible impact of an oxygen supply system that is transferable anywhere is substantial. Profit-driven development and advancement of oxygen concentrators could increase the availability of the device, and thereby oxygen therapy, globally.
A literature study and qualitative individual interviews were carried out in order to collect data of the subject. A top-down approach was chosen to achieve a broad presentation of the situation, i.e. interviews were held with key people from the industry. Analysis of the interviews was performed according to Graneheim and Lundman qualitative content analysis.
This study presents that the use of oxygen concentrators could be extended in the Swedish home health care, in nursing homes, and in the future maybe ambulances. For hospitals larger bulk systems appear as preferable, and there are indications that a thorough exploration of the available options should be in place. On-site production may have economical and environmental advantages, and could be a subject for future research. (Less) - Popular Abstract
- Rethinking oxygen - national and global benefits of switching to on-site oxygen production.
The shortage of medical oxygen has during the recent pandemic been brought into daylight, globally. Medical oxygen is generally produced in bulk by a third party that delivers their product to the hospitals. The hospital then holds liquid oxygen in large tanks, and compressed oxygen in cylinders. This system requires that there is a stable supplier that can regularly deliver oxygen to meet the need of hospitals. Additionally the area should have infrastructure that makes transportation of large quantities of dangerous goods possible. For many countries there is thereby a vast shortage of oxygen. Extensive research has been carried out in these... (More) - Rethinking oxygen - national and global benefits of switching to on-site oxygen production.
The shortage of medical oxygen has during the recent pandemic been brought into daylight, globally. Medical oxygen is generally produced in bulk by a third party that delivers their product to the hospitals. The hospital then holds liquid oxygen in large tanks, and compressed oxygen in cylinders. This system requires that there is a stable supplier that can regularly deliver oxygen to meet the need of hospitals. Additionally the area should have infrastructure that makes transportation of large quantities of dangerous goods possible. For many countries there is thereby a vast shortage of oxygen. Extensive research has been carried out in these contexts, and oxygen concentrators has been found as an alternative source. An oxygen concentrators is a medical device that concentrates oxygen from the ambient air, and are generally used next to the patient. There are also larger systems that utilizes the same technology to generate bulk volumes of medical oxygen on-site. Unicef and WHO are presenting a number of positive aspects of on-site oxygen production, including economical and environmental savings. In Sweden and similar countries oxygen concentrators are widely used in the home health care, but medical facilities are typically dependent on third party deliveries of liquid or compressed oxygen. This thesis aimed to explore the possibility of extending the use of oxygen concentrators in Sweden, with regards to national and global benefits. If wealthier countries utilized systems that are transferable to low resource settings, it would most likely increase the availability of oxygen globally.
Through a thorough literature study and interviews with experts on the subject this thesis presents that it could be possible to increase the use of oxygen concentrators. However, the research also presents that a future solution could be to use different sizes of on-site oxygen production, without limiting it to bedside oxygen concentrators. Furthermore this project suggests that the current oxygen supply systems have not undergone any comprehensive evaluation or comparison to alternatives. Hence there are reasons to believe that many countries might be utilizing systems that are not the optimal option with regards to price, safety and environmental sustainability. Additionally the development of arrangements that can be used globally is not carried forward.
Finally this project presents possible ideas for a future in on-site production that could increase life quality of Swedish patients, increase safety for healthcare professionals, decrease costs, and increase availability of oxygen therapy in low resource settings. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9136947
- author
- Lachmann, Alice LU
- supervisor
- organization
- alternative title
- En top-down utredning av möjligheten att utöka användandet av syrgaskoncentratorer inom svensk sjukvård, med hänsyn till nationell och global nytta.
- course
- BMEM01 20231
- year
- 2023
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- oxygen concentrators, LOX, liquid oxygen, oxygen therapy, medical oxygen, oxygen cylinder, PSA, VPSA, oxygen supply
- language
- English
- additional info
- 2023-14
- id
- 9136947
- date added to LUP
- 2023-09-26 10:00:40
- date last changed
- 2023-09-26 10:00:40
@misc{9136947,
abstract = {{Oxygen concentrators are relatively small medical devices that concentrates oxygen from the ambient air next to the patient. They are widely used in low resource settings and in the home health care. For larger hospitals in Sweden and similar countries however, the most common oxygen source is liquid oxygen and oxygen cylinders, delivered from an off-site supplier. Liquid oxygen is often not an option in countries with scarce resources.
This study aims to explore the opportunity of extending the use of oxygen concentrators. Behind this investigation is the belief that high resource countries could benefit from ideas made for low resource settings, since the goal for both is to find sustainable and cost-efficient solutions. Furthermore the possible impact of an oxygen supply system that is transferable anywhere is substantial. Profit-driven development and advancement of oxygen concentrators could increase the availability of the device, and thereby oxygen therapy, globally.
A literature study and qualitative individual interviews were carried out in order to collect data of the subject. A top-down approach was chosen to achieve a broad presentation of the situation, i.e. interviews were held with key people from the industry. Analysis of the interviews was performed according to Graneheim and Lundman qualitative content analysis.
This study presents that the use of oxygen concentrators could be extended in the Swedish home health care, in nursing homes, and in the future maybe ambulances. For hospitals larger bulk systems appear as preferable, and there are indications that a thorough exploration of the available options should be in place. On-site production may have economical and environmental advantages, and could be a subject for future research.}},
author = {{Lachmann, Alice}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{A top-down investigation of the possible extension of oxygen concentrator use within Swedish healthcare, with regards to national and global benefits}},
year = {{2023}},
}