Evaluation of the System O2 Inc portable nonpressurized oxygen delivery system

Objective To evaluate the performance of the System O 2 portable non-pressurized delivery system (SysO 2 ). This device produces oxygen through chemical reaction and might have utility for emergency/field use. Methods Performance was evaluated with 10 unmanned trials conducted under standard laboratory conditions. Measures included oxygen flow (mean and peak), total oxygen yield, and system weight-indexed yield. Results Oxygen flow peaked at 5.74±0.28 L·min −1 (mean±SD) at 16.9±1.5 minutes before rapidly falling to zero. Mean flow was 2.98±1.52 L·min −1 with a total yield of 62.9±6.6L. Mean oxygen fraction was 0.96±0.15. The weight per unit of oxygen is substantially higher than for commercially available pressurized cylinders; e.g., 47.7 vs. 10.2 g·L −1 for the small 246L M9 cylinder. Conclusions Given the limited flow rate and supply duration, we believe the SysO 2 system does not offer significant advantage over the available pressurized oxygen systems as a source for emergency oxygen.