10-lbs. concentrator wins 510(k)

BUFFALO, N.Y. — AirSep's 9.75-lbs. portable oxygen concentrator has received the FDA's 510(k) marketing clearance and was scheduled to start shipping last month. Calling it the "the first real breakthrough technology in oxygen equipment in two decades," AirSep president and COO Joseph L. Priest said the LifeStyle Portable Oxygen Concentrator has generated more interest from home respiratory providers than any other product released by the company. The LifeStyle continuously produces its own supply of therapeutic oxygen with a pulse flow delivery on every breath. The unit is powered by either AC household electricity, a DC automobile adapter or through a rechargeable battery pack. AirSep said the LifeStyle would cost HME providers about $1,995. The concentrator is AirSep's answer to the most costly aspect of providing service to a home oxygen patient — the redelivery of portable oxygen tanks. Other companies have approached the problem from different angles. Chad Therapeutics and Invacare have developed oxygen concentrators that fill gas cylinders in the home. Puritan Bennett, Caire and Penox have developed portable liquid systems that provide many hours of ambulation in a lightweight unit. SeQual Technologies is working on lightweight concentrator technology. Of approximately one million home oxygen patients nationwide, about 80% are ambulatory, according to Pete Bliss, technical director of Valley Inspired Products. Bliss believes home respiratory technology is on the verge of a pretty significant makeover. "The landscape of respiratory care will look very different five years from now" he said. HME