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An Inspiration-Triggered Delivery System For Oxygen Therapy Via A Nasal Cannula, Philip Charles Krause, Charles F. Babbs

Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications

Therapy for severe chronic lung disease currently includes the administration of supplemental oxygen to prevent breathlessness and tissue hypoxia. Although effective, this therapy is unnecessarily costly, because oxygen is administered to the patient during expiration as well as inspiration. To eliminate this inefficiency, a delivery system that senses the inspiratory effort and delivers oxygen to the patient only during inspiration was developed. The 11  5  8-cm flow control unit attaches easily to a portable oxygen supply. The components of the system have an expected life of five years, and the 9-Volt battery provides power for about one month …