If you have a respiratory disease that requires oxygen therapy as treatment, you have a few options as to how you get your oxygen.
Pulse vs. Continuous Oxygen Flow
First, it is important to know what type of oxygen flow you require— pulse flow or continuous flow. If you need continuous flow, you need an oxygen device that provides a constant flow of oxygen whether or not you're inhaling or exhaling.
Pulse flow oxygen devices offer “doses” of oxygen every time the device notices your inhale.
At first glance both methods seem rather straight forward, however, pulse low devices require a certain technological advancement that allows the device to recognize what your inhale is.
A portable oxygen concentrator is the best option for oxygen patients who need pulse flow and/or continuous flow oxygen. These devices are battery powered and are designed to be portable for anyone that likes to be active! If you have a high end pulse flow device, like the Caire Freestyle Comfort, it has built in technology that recognizes even the shallowest inhales, thereby ensuring you get the right amount of oxygen no matter what.
Exercise and Oxygen Therapy
Even with a respiratory disease that impacts your ability to breathe, exercise and maintaining the ability to be mobile is an essential part of treatment! Being active helps you keep your bones, muscles, and lungs strong. Without regular exercise, your bone muscle and joints will weaken and start to deteriorate, then your symptoms associated with respiratory disease will worsen at a faster rate.
Because exercise is so important, yet breathing is so difficult, respiratory patients have a lot of uphill battling to do, literally and figuratively. It is helpful to have an oxygen device that works with you to battle through exercise, rather than battling the exercise and oxygen device.
You and your oxygen device are a team. Once you are prescribed medical oxygen as a form of treatment you have it for the rest of your life!
In order to maintain the highest quality of life as an oxygen patient, you must abide by the oxygen prescription laid out for you. It is not easy, and it will take time to adjust to the supplemental oxygen.
In order to adjust to oxygen therapy and simultaneously keep up with your other respiratory treatments, you will want a reliable, easy to use portable oxygen device.
If you want a high quality oxygen device to help you do the job, you will need to do a little bit of research, but LPT Medical makes this very easy.
You can start with a phone call, speak with a LPT Medical respiratory specialist about your oxygen requirements, your lifestyle, your goals, and they will pick out the oxygen device that suits your needs best.
If you are a pulse flow patient, and you enjoy being active or have goals to increase your activity/mobility levels, we will recommend a few devices. One of our longtime best selling pulse flow portable oxygen concentrators is the Caire Freestyle comfort, and for a number of reasons we will go over later in this blog!
That being said, we recently added three NEW portable oxygen concentrators to our catalog, and we are excited to introduce these new devices into the lives of our oxygen patients! One of the new devices that is comparable to a best seller is the Devilbiss iGo 2 portable oxygen concentrators.
Let's learn more about it!
DeVilbiss iGo 2 Portable Oxygen Concentrator
Drive DeVilbiss Healthcare is an oxygen manufacturing company that is dedicated to developing state-of-the-art equipment fully equipped with cutting-edge technology.
It is this spirit that gives quality of life to the users of their products. This is evident when we look at the DeVilbiss iGo 2 portable oxygen concentrator and what it has to offer you, the oxygen user.
The DeVilbiss iGo 2 is a pulse flow device that is simple to use, yet so complex and changes the way of oxygen therapy forever. Built with integrity and the oxygen user in mind, this device makes breathing easy again.
SmartDoseTM Auto-Adjusting Conserver Technology
The DeVilbiss iGo 2 comes equipped with an auto-adjusting converser feature, this technology works to adjust the oxygen production and delivery to meet your specific oxygen demands. No matter what you are doing, whether it's an activity or rest, your oxygen from the iGo 2 will always be optimized to meet your needs.
This SmartDose Technology makes this oxygen unit the most efficient and effective on the market. The SmartDose works by detecting your breathing rate and delivering more oxygen when your breath increases and will reduce flow once your breath comes down again, always ensuring your oxygen levels are stable and consistent.
Basically, you will never need to manually adjust the setting of your oxygen device, just breath!
Battery Life
One of the reasons so many people own portable oxygen concentrators over oxygen tanks and canisters is because they are able to use an oxygen device that runs off of battery power and has an unlimited supply of oxygen. So, the iGo 2 took no shortcuts when it came to changeability and battery life!
The DeVilbiss iGo2 can last for 3.5 hours on a pulse flow setting 2, that means you have plenty of time to run errands, go for a walk, attend your pulmonary rehab class on one charge.
If you plan to be out and about longer, you can purchase a second battery to use as a backup for longer trips and flights! (Yup, the iGo is FAA approval and you can use it on planes)
Switching batteries, and replacing the dead battery with the fully charged battery is a breeze. This device’s battery dock is located on the top of the machine, so accessing the battery is effortless because it opens without having to remove the device from the carrying case.
You can also charge the battery while you are using the device, just plug it into the wall with the AC power cord, or use the DC power cord to charge in the car, RV, or boat and just breathe!
Small, Compact, and Easy to Use
The DeVilbliss iGo 2 is a small compact device that stands 8.4” tall, 3.5” wide, and 8.6” long! It fits perfectly in the custom carrying case and including the shoulder strap it weighs a total of 5 pounds! The custom carrying case is visually appealing, and it is the perfect balance of casual and professional, the black leather custom carrying case looks great on all genders and ages!
The device hangs nicely near your waist, and sits comfortably strapped over your shoulder. Carry it as easily as you would a regular size handbag, and don’t worry about bumps in the road, the i Go 2’s rugged design is lined with protective rubberized casing, that keeps the device safe against damage from bumps and drops, and the rubber casing even protects your device from mold!
The SmartDose technology makes the iGo 2 super easy to use because you never have to adjust your oxygen delivery setting. Instead the device is able to increase the oxygen output when you are breathing deeper during exercise or activity, and it will reduce the oxygen output when your breath comes back to a normal rate, ensuring you are getting enough oxygen and also not too much!
This isn’t the only reason the iGo is so user friendly, the control center is a LCD screen that lights up with big letters and numbers indicating the battery life and oxygen setting.
The iGo 2 takes care of you. With respiratory disease, forgetting a simple step in your treatment of daily plan can be harmful to your health and wellbeing and unfortunately it is also something that happens all too often.
The iGo 2 has audible alerts for when it has a low battery, low oxygen output, no breath detected in PulseDose mode, high temperature, or unit malfunction! This is peace of mind you can't get with any other oxygen device.
FAA Approved
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is responsible for overseeing safety regulations for commercial airlines in the United States. Without FAA approval, you will not be able to carry your oxygen concentrator on a plane. Fortunately, the DeVilbiss iGo 2 is already approved by this government organization. All you’ll need to do is get in touch with your airline before you fly!
So, all of these feature make the iGo 2 an unstoppable oxygen device, but how does it compare to one of our long-term best selling devices on the market?
Let’s talk about the Caire Freestyle Comfort!
The Caire Freestyle Comfort Portable Oxygen Device
CAIRE Inc. is one of the global leaders in oxygen supply manufacturing. For 50 years, they’ve worked to refine and improve oxygen delivery equipment that helps respiratory patients live more active and productive lives.
The CAIRE Freestyle Comfort is the latest pulse dose portable oxygen concentrator by CAIRE Inc. This new oxygen machine offers a lightweight and ergonomic design that’s comfortable and easy to carry whether you’re just going for a walk in the park or taking a long trip across the world.
UltraSense Breath Detection Technology
The Caire Freestyle Comfort offers an ultra-sensitive breath detection feature that makes this oxygen unit one of the most efficient and effective on the market. Rather than providing you with a constant stream of oxygen, the Freestyle Comfort delivers oxygen only when a breath is detected. This “bolus” of oxygen is precisely synced with your breathing ensuring no oxygen is wasted.
The Freestyle Comfort offers you 5 oxygen flow settings with a maximum oxygen output of 1050ml/min. This is enough oxygen for the vast majority of oxygen patients, and for some, it provides plenty of room to move up if their symptoms progress. The Caire Freestyle Comfort is one of the top-tier pulse flow oxygen concentrators when it comes to total oxygen output.
Long Battery Life
Unlike oxygen tanks, pulse flow portable oxygen concentrators like the Freestyle Comfort run on batteries. You’ll be happy to know that this oxygen machine will provide you with plenty of battery life to help you live life on your own terms without boundaries.
On the lowest flow setting with the 16-cell battery, you’ll experience an astounding 16 hours of battery life! That’s 3 more hours than top-of-its-class portable oxygen concentrators like the Inogen One G5. What this means is that you’ll be able to stay out and about for longer without having to come back home to recharge your unit.
Like with Inogen oxygen concentrators, you’ll be able to charge your Freestyle Comfort through either an AC or a DC outlet. Whether you’re at home or in the car, you’ll be able to charge your device wherever you please. The 8-cell battery has a recharge time of about 3.5 hours and the 16-cell battery has a recharge time of about 6 hours.
Comfortable and Ergonomic
If you’ve ever used a bulky and cumbersome continuous flow concentrator, you know that they’re anything but user-friendly. While they do offer you the oxygen you need, it doesn’t feel like they were built with your comfort in mind.
The Caire Freestyle Comfort got its name for a reason; it was specifically designed to be comfortable to wear and use. This oxygen unit has a curved design that fits the natural shape of your body. While you’re walking, it will stay at your side instead of sliding around and interfering with your natural movements. All of the buttons for your oxygen control as well as the power switch are conveniently located on the top of the unit and the batteries can be easily pulled off the bottom of the unit for replacement.
The Caire Freestyle Comfort is one of the lightest portable oxygen concentrators on the market, weighing in at just 5 pounds with the 8-cell battery and 6 pounds with the 16-cell battery. This means you’ll be able to carry your oxygen unit without ever experiencing back pain or unnecessary strain that can ruin your day.
FAA Approved
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is responsible for overseeing safety regulations for commercial airlines in the United States. Without FAA approval, you will not be able to carry your oxygen concentrator on a plane. Fortunately, the Caire Freestyle Comfort is already approved by this government organization. All you’ll need to do is get in touch with your airline of choice well enough ahead of your flight.
Overview
Clearly, both of these oxygen devices fit into your life as the perfect travel and exercise companion.
Both are able to detect the shallowest of breaths, so you never have to think twice about getting the oxygen you need. This peace of mind alone can give you the freedom and independence you desire, making all of the costs of the POC worth it.
Beyond oxygen delivery, there are so many other features that make both the iGo 2 and the Freestyle Comfort worthwhile. Whether you are attracted to the lightweight compact design, or the long-lasting battery life, you get it all!
If you want to learn more about the Carie Freestyle Comfort or the DeVilbiss iGo 2, simply call 1-(800)-946-1201 to speak with LPT Medical, we are happy to talk over the phone about the prices, your payment plan options, 3 year warranty on new devices and much more!