Electrochemical Oxygen Concentrator for Home Therapy

描述（由申请人提供）：长期氧疗（LTOT）对慢性阻塞性肺疾病（COPD）和其他导致低氧血症的肺部疾病患者的有益效果是众所周知的。在大多数国家，COPD患者的数量正在增加，在美国，它现在是导致死亡的主要原因之一。LTOT提高了患者的生存率，也有可能大大改善患者的生活质量。由于LTOT必须在白天尽可能长时间地给予，因此将每日氧疗时间延长到一天中的移动的时段非常重要。这可以通过使用紧凑、轻便、便携的氧气源来实现。因此，显然需要一种新的基于技术的氧气发生器，其满足家庭内外对LTOT的所有要求。目前，由于LOX的成本以及因此供应商较低的利润率，用LOX系统提供流动氧气是有问题的。便携式氧气的目的是增加运动耐量，减少运动呼吸困难，提高生活质量，并延长LTOT的每日时间。为了满足已确定的需求，该项目专门针对使用创新的电化学生命支持系统改善家庭和办公室环境中的非卧床患者的氧气输送。该技术将在临床效益、患者便利性和交付成本方面有显着改善。便携式电化学系统将根据需要产生加湿的氧气供应，但除此之外是纯的氧气，同时具有小于10磅的系统重量和小于600瓦的系统功率要求。该系统将提供即时启动，估计氧气发生器的费用将不到1 000美元。由于便携式电化学制氧机技术在政府和其他商业领域都有应用，如战场生命保障、前方医疗区、伤员运输车、商用和军用飞机的“氧气滴充器”，以及减压病、空气栓塞和一氧化碳中毒的高压氧治疗，因此将采用两用开发方法。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The beneficial effects of Long-term Oxygen Therapy (LTOT) in the home for patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), and other lung diseases causing hypoxemia, are well known. The number of patients with COPD is increasing in most countries, and in the U.S., it is now one of the leading causes of death. LTOT increases a patient's survival rate and also has the potential to improve considerably a patient's quality of life. Since LTOT must be given for as long as possible during the day, it is important to extend daily hours of oxygen therapy into the mobile period of the day. This can be achieved through the use of compact, lightweight, portable sources of oxygen gas. Thus, there exists a clear need for a new technology-based oxygen generator that satisfies all the requirements for LTOT both within and outside the home. Currently, providing ambulatory oxygen with LOX systems is problematic because of the cost of LOX and hence lower profit margins for suppliers. The aims of portable oxygen are to increase exercise tolerance, reduce exercise dyspnea, improve quality of life, and extend the daily hours of LTOT. In response to the identified need, this project is specifically aimed at improving the delivery of oxygen to ambulatory patients in the home and office setting using an innovative electrochemical life support system. The technology will have a dramatic improvement in clinical benefits, patient convenience and delivery costs. The portable electrochemical system will produce on demand a supply of humidified, but otherwise pure, oxygen gas, while having a system weight less than 10 Ib and system power requirements less than 600 Watts. The system will provide instantaneous start-up and it is estimated that the oxygen generator will cost less than $1,000. A dual-use development approach will be adopted because the portable electrochemical oxygen generator technology has both government and other commercial applications such as battlefield life support, forward medical treatment areas, casualty transport vehicles, "oxygen trickle charger" for commercial and military aircraft, and hyperbaric oxygen therapy for decompression sickness, air embolism, and carbon monoxide poisoning.