About Oxygen Blenders
Oxygen (O2) blenders are specialty medical devices used to mix Medical Air and Oxygen to a blend that ranges between 21% to 100% oxygen. These devices are used primarily in critical care patient respiratory applications to help prevent oxygen toxicity. For example, when a patient is on a ventilator, a blender will be used to deliver a safe concentration of both oxygen and medical air to the patient, and prevent any harm that may result from an overflow of oxygen. O2 blenders are most commonly used in critical care units such as hospital emergency rooms, ICUs (intensive care units), and NICUs (neonatal intensive care units).
How do they function?
The blender is controlled using an adjustment knob on the front of the device that allows the medical professional to set the specific FIO2 (fraction of inspired oxygen) concentration blend. While the blender itself controls the blend of medical gases, the devices that connect to the blender, such as flowmeters, control the output/flow rate being administered to patients.
The unit has the ability to attach both a primary and an auxiliary flowmeter to help monitor the LPM being provided. The total flow range is between 3-30 LPM or 5-120 LPM depending on the unit/model selected. The O2 blender comes with an internal bypass mechanism and a safety alarm to ensure safe use at all times.
There is also a dual stage pressure balancing system which helps the unit deliver a steady flow of oxygen at all times. You have the option of mounting the system using the included mounting bracket or attaching the system to a mobile pole. It is also recommended that a condensation trap be installed before the blender’s air inlet to eliminate any condensation or moisture droplets from the medical air gas before it goes into the blender.
Inlets and Outlets
Each blender is NFPA 99 compliant and comes with oxygen and medical air inlets that have standard DISS 1240 and DISS 1160 connections respectively. These inlets are where the medical gas hoses for oxygen and medical air would attach to the unit. The sources for the medical gas hoses can be from either cylinders with regulators or directly from the med gas outlets in the facility.
The blender also has two outlets, a primary outlet and an auxiliary outlet, both with standard male DISS 1240 connections. The primary outlet will deliver an O2 flow when connected to a flow regulating device, such as a flowmeter. The auxiliary outlet also delivers an O2 flow when connected to a flow regulating device, however this outlet also has a bleed valve that allows the user to control whether the bleed is set to ON or OFF. When the bleed is set to ON, the auxiliary outlet will deliver an accurate oxygen concentration with the following flow range: 0-30 LPM for the low flow model and 5-120 LPM for the high flow model.
More Information
For more information on oxygen blenders, feel free to give us a call at 844-339-1110, or reach out to us through our Contact Us page. You can also access the manufacturer’s spec sheet under the “Specifications” tab for each product.
