Portable Oxygen Concentrators and Blood Purification could Help Novel Coronavirus Patients
Posted on 30 Mar 2020; 03:30 AM IST. Last Updated 30 Mar 2020; 03:45 AM IST.Summary: Portable Oxygen Concentrators can filter Nitrogen from the air we breathe. These devices could possibly help Novel Coronavirus (covid-19) patients, who suffer from dyspnea (breathing difficulty), which is possibly the primary cause for death. Another technique adopted by Chinese was to inject oxygen, into the blood of the patients. This article provides some insights into these alternate techniques, when Ventilators are not readily available.
The Novel Coronavirus (covid-19) causes a breathing difficulty (called dyspnea), which is fatal, since the lungs fail to get the required amounts of Oxygen. Ventilators, are complex devices, which help a patient breath. The air we breathe is 78% Nitrogen, 20% oxygen and the remaining is rare gases. If we can filter the Nitrogen from air, we get 99% Oxygen, and this could save some patients, although Ventilators are the preferred devices.
What if you cannot find a Ventilator, readily available?
- I vaguely remember reading on internet that the Chinese, purified the blood of patients, i.e injected Oxygen into blood, to save patients. I do not belong to medical domain, but this could ring some bells to healthcare professionals.
- If we can provide 99% Oxygen early on, the chances of recovery of a patient could greatly increase. This is my assumption, based on the description of the disease.
The problem we have here is, if all the Hospitals are full, where do we get Oxygen for patients?
Luckily, there is a device to solve this problem, and it is called "Portable Oxygen Concentrator". These are relatively cheap devices and cost around $1000 - $5000, depending on the place. The best part is, these devices are small, and can be easily installed in the patients home, if hospital space is a constraint.
HealthCare professionals could evaluate these devices, in desperate (no alternative) situations.
Filtering Nitrogen from air is not a complex process anymore. Zeolite, a natural compound used in water purification, can absorb Nitrogen, from pressurized air. So, we can easily manufacture Oxygen Generators in bulk, if required.