Portable Continuous Oxygen System

描述（由申请人提供）： 慢性阻塞性肺疾病（COPD）是一种严重的公共卫生问题，每年在美国造成超过50万人住院，10万人死亡和150亿美元的直接医疗费用。此外，数以百万计的美国人因肺部疾病而残疾。据估计，超过1600万人患有未确诊的COPD。患有肺气肿或阻塞性支气管炎的患者，或患有长期低血氧水平（慢性低氧血症）的患者，通常需要补充氧气。氧气浓缩器-电动机械设备，通过称为变压吸附（PSA）的过程从空气中提取氧气-是最常用的设备，用于提供补充氧气（每分钟0.5 - 3.0升）。当低流量补充氧气被规定用于治疗COPD或慢性低氧血症时，为患者提供固定式氧气浓缩器以在其家中使用，加上几个小罐气态氧气和配件（氧气保存装置和压力调节器），用于在其家中或其家外的短途旅行，包括航空旅行。SeQual Technologies开发了一种先进的PSA气体分离系统，用于医疗应用中的氧气生产。该专有系统采用了快速真空变压吸附工艺，使SeQual能够提供PSA装置，该装置具有任何医用氧气浓缩器的最高回收率（输出氧气分子与输入氧气分子的比率）和最高生产率（系统每单位体积的氧气输出流量）。该公司专有的PSA设备-结合最先进的，高效率，重量轻的电机和压缩机-使SeQual能够生产一种独特的，便携式，电池供电，氧气浓缩器系统。SeQual的持续努力仍然是在PSA过程中提高效率，生产力和氧分子的回收率，以有效地简化氧气发生装置，这将导致一个非常小规模的便携式氧气浓缩器，可以在任何时候向患者提供连续的氧气。本研究的重点是新型整体结构的吸附剂。该研究建议表征结构的表面积，研究独特的变压吸附循环和参数的有效性，并设计一个非常小的系统用于氧浓度。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a serious public health problem that is responsible for more than 500,000 hospitalizations, 100,000 deaths, and $15 billion in direct costs of medical care in the U.S. each year. In addition, millions of Americans are disabled by lung disease. It is estimated that more than 16 million people have undiagnosed COPD. Patients, whom have developed emphysema or obstructive bronchitis or who are afflicted with long-standing, low, blood-oxygen levels (chronic hypoxemia), typically require supplemental oxygen. Oxygen concentrators--electrically powered mechanical devices that extract oxygen from air by a process known as Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA)--are the most prevalent devices used to provide supplemental oxygen (0.5 - 3.0 liters per minute). When low-flow supplemental oxygen is prescribed for the treatment of COPD or chronic hypoxemia, a patient is provided with a stationary oxygen concentrator for use in their home, plus several small tanks of gaseous oxygen and accessories (an oxygen conserving device & pressure regulator) for ambulation or excursions outside their home, including airline travel. SeQual Technologies has developed an advanced PSA gas separation system for the generation of oxygen for medical applications. This proprietary system incorporates a rapid vacuum-pressure-swing adsorption process that enables SeQual to provide a PSA unit with both the highest recovery (the ratio of output oxygen molecules to input oxygen molecules) and the greatest productivity (the oxygen output flow rate per unit volume of the system) of any medical oxygen concentrator. The Company's proprietary PSA devices--in combination with state-of-the-art, high efficiency, lightweight motors and compressors--have enabled SeQual to produce a unique, portable, battery-operated, oxygen concentrator system. SeQual's continued efforts remain in the improvement of the efficiency, productivity and recovery of oxygen molecules during the PSA process to effectively miniaturize the oxygen generation device that will lead to a very small scale portable oxygen concentrator that can deliver continuous oxygen to a patient at all times. The focus of this research is on novel monolithic structured adsorbents. The study proposes to characterize the surface area of the structures, study the effectiveness of the unique pressure swing adsorption cycles and parameters and design a very small system for the concentration of oxygen.