Australia-based Oxair Gas Sytems Ltd, which serves India from its base in Chennai, shared a platform with fellow medical gases manufacturer Linde at the event. They highlighted the part PSAs are playing post-Covid – helping healthcare facilities ensure patients’ safety by providing reliable, continuous, high-quality and medical-grade oxygen at all times.

During waves of the virus India’s hospitals faced a surge in demand for oxygen, leaving the traditional supply chain struggling to keep up. Those that installed PSA technology have reported a positive impact, significantly reducing monthly oxygen costs, while at the same time improving health and safety standards due to no longer handling dangerous high-pressure cylinders.

The equipment eliminates the chance of succumbing to failures in the oxygen cylinder supply chain. Clinicians are guaranteed a constant source of high-quality oxygen that can be quickly piped directly to the patient’s bedside on demand. It is estimated that at the last count over 8,000 hospitals in India have installed PSAs and the number is increasing.

Oxair’s Indian manufacturing facility can turn around orders for ready-to-use, standalone oxygen PSA units in about 8 to 10 weeks. These are high quality, robust medical devices designed to last and deliver consistent, high purity oxygen on tap to hospitals and healthcare facilities even in the remotest locations around the world.

The system delivers constant oxygen of 94-95 percent purity through PSA filtration, a unique process that separates oxygen from compressed air. The gas is conditioned, filtered then stored in a buffer tank to be used directly by the end user. Suitable control systems are in place to ensure purity and continuity even in the event of a failure or sudden increase in demand.

Oxair’s PSA systems meet all the strict global regulations surrounding hospital equipment, including the capability of supplying the specified oxygen concentration continuously in ambient temperature from 10–40°C, relative humidity from 15-95%, preferably simultaneously, and elevation from 0 to 1000m, minimum. It’s also compatible with back-up power supply.

Among recommendations for PSA operation and maintenance training Oxair India’s Ashok Seshasayee told the forum that site selection is vital, saying: “The siting of the plant should allow for adequate flows of air. It should have all-round access for monitoring and maintenance and allowance should be made for changing major components by trained and competent persons.”

Covid is still out there. So instead of the removal and reliance of transporting in and handling of dangerous conventional cylinders, except as a back-up supply, India’s hospitals have the opportunity for oxygen on tap, enabling them to be better prepared for tackling the next health emergency.