M.O.V. - Medical Oxygen Vest.©
M.O.V. - Medical Oxygen Vest.©
Rutger Berntsen, founder of international company, OxygenWorldwide has designed and named the M.O.V described as a body warmer vest that was based upon the principles of a portable oxygen concentrator (POC). This medical oxygen vest contains the necessary equipment to provide medical oxygen to the wearer. The vest would be ideal for oxygen users who require a constant supply of medical oxygen and the life line of being able to be mobile and freely move around without the constraints of a more conventional oxygen device. The M.O.V is designed for e.g. young children or active sport users to give the ability to move around more freely such as going to play a game of golf or running around in the playground.
A portable oxygen concentrator (POC) is normally carried around by means of a shoulder strap. This is not convenient when one has to make movements beyond normal walking. The main advantage of the M.O.V. is that the weight of the equipment in the vest is equally divided over two sides located under the arm pits. The fact that the equipment is ‘concealed’ inside the vest could take away the burden of having to carry around a medical device, which to many medical oxygen users indicates the appearance that you are in fact a ‘patient’. Flexible solar panels are placed on the chest and back of the vest to provide (at this stage) power to the display panel. To make the system fully operational the batteries should (at this stage) be charged by plugging into a AC outlet.
For more information and/or a 3D animation contact: rutgerberntsen@oxygenworldwide.com
Oxygen Travel in Irene's care
Name: Irene
1 year anniversary at OxygenWorldwide
Nationality: Dutch
Loves: to take away customer worries and make them feel free to travel anywhere anytime in the world
Hi, my name is Irene and I joined the OxygenWorldwide team in October 2011.
I come from the Netherlands and moved to Spain in 2002, to take care of my mother who suffered from dementia. In May 2011 she passed away at the blessed age of 93 years. I now care for three dogs, of which two were stray. In my spare time I enjoy taking my dogs on hikes through the stunning mountains or along the beach. I have a keen interest in nature and take part in several environmental groups.
What I find the most interesting and satisfying whilst working at OxygenWorldwide is that from one place I can help people from all over the world with their need for oxygen, to take away their worries and make them feel free to travel anywhere and at anytime. It feels like being a spider in a web, able to reach all corners of the world.
On a Sunday afternoon once I received a phone call from a patient who was on holiday in Gran Canaria with a portable oxygen concentrator that had broken down. He had already contacted his insurance company back home, but they couldn´t help him any further. It took some urgent calling and emailing, but I managed to find a replacement first thing Monday morning, this shows how quickly we can help our customers in a time of need.
There was another occasion recently from a customer who´s portable concentrator broke down just the evening before his flight back home. He did manage to get something for during the flight, but he was so afraid he wouldn´t make it through the night! That same evening we managed to deliver a concentrator to where he was staying, so he could have a good night´s sleep and be fit for his journey home.
The strangest request I think was from a patient who wanted to rent a portable oxygen concentrator in Singapore, to be shipped to Japan, so he could take it on his holiday to Singapore and back to Japan again, to then ship it back to Singapore!
If I ever get the chance to travel, I would like to see a lot of places, so I think I would opt for a world cruise… in fact, I might book a permanent place, instead of going into an old people´s home when i retire!
I am very proud to be celebrating 20 years of OxygenWorldwide this year and hope to be helping more people travel this year.
Contact me at info@oxygenworldwide.com for further details and information on travelling with medical oxygen abroad or visit www.oxygenworldwide.com to enquire or read more about our team and how we have been supporting customers for 20 years.
Oxygen Travel in Sophie's care
Name: Sophie
3 year anniversary at OxygenWorldwide
Nationality: Belgium
Loves: speaking different languages and being able to communicate with customers from around the world
My name is Sophie Proot and I have been part of the Oxygenworldwide team since September 2010.
I was born in Belgium and have been living in Spain since 1998. Eager to discover other countries, I left Belgium first towards England and after France and Greece, I finally ended up in Spain.
In my search for a new job, possibly in another foreign country, I came across a job offer at OxygenWorldwide. Since the day I joined OxygenWorldwide, each day of my life has been a voyage. Today e.g. we started by finishing off a delivery for a patient travelling to India, next you attend to a patients request for Spain, and before you know it you are talking to your colleagues in Chile regarding the next patient travelling to Santiago.
In my previous job, I had come across the services of OxygenWorldwide who at the time was called Care O2. I remember I had experienced it as a quick, swift and friendly service.
Now I have the opportunity to live the experience and on a global level, it makes it oh so much more interesting and exciting. What I get out of the job for myself? To have contact with people all over the world and to communicate in many different languages. Towards the patients, it feels nice to assist them towards achieving the same dream I have myself, which is travelling. When a patient inquires about whether it is possible to travel with O2, it is great being able to simply answer “yes, of course” when really the person enquiring taught this phone call was the beginning of a long and hard search for a solution.
The strangest or most surprising thing I came across during the time I have been working with the company is that, recently a patient enquired by phone. Whilst waiting for my reply, the patient said: “somebody is happy at her job!” I said: Why? The lady replied: “you were singing!” Well, this lady was right!
If I could book to go any part in the world I would choose to travel to Patagonia.
I feel proud and lucky to be part of a company which has quality and service as its top priority and hope to be part of the OxygenWorldwide team for many more years providing a carefree holiday for many people.
I am very proud to be celebrating 20 years of OxygenWorldwide this year and hope to be helping more people travel this year.
Contact me at info@oxygenworldwide.com for further details and information on travelling with medical oxygen abroad or visit www.oxygenworldwide.com to enquire or read more about our team and how we have been supporting customers for 20 years.
Oxygen Travel in Els's care
Name: Els
7 year anniversary at OxygenWorldwide
Nationality: Dutch
Loves: my job!
How long I have been with OxygenWorldwide? To tell you the truth, I cannot even remember and had to look it up... And do you know why? Because I have such a wonderful job and time flies!
But now I know: I have been with OxygenWorldwide since April 2006. Yes, I am one of the oldies… I am married and I have lived in many different countries. So, yes, I speak several languages. But that goes for everyone in our team. We believe it is important for our patients that they can communicate in their own language and we hear from them that is appreciated.
The job is very diverse, in a way you travel the whole world in a few hours: from Spain to Poland, from Germany to Hawaii and from New York to Dubai. And you get in touch with so many different people.
The most interesting experience was when I met one of our patients in person. He invited me for a cup of coffee when he was on holiday not too far from where I live. He had been using our services for many, many years. It was good to see how much he enjoyed being able to go on holiday, even though he was in need of oxygen. And we make that possible! That gives you a good feeling!
If I could choose where I would like to go one day for holiday: Down under, Australia, here I come!
I am very proud to be celebrating 20 years of OxygenWorldwide this year and hope to be helping more people travel this year.
Contact me at info@oxygenworldwide.com for further details and information on travelling with medical oxygen abroad or visit www.oxygenworldwide.com to enquire or read more about our team and how we have been supporting customers for 20 years.
Oxygen Travel in Benny's care
Name: Benny
One and half-year anniversary at OxygenWorldwide
Nationality: Belgian
Loves: helping customers and the feeling of doing a great job across the world
Working with OxygenWorldwide has been the most interesting and exciting job experience for me for the past one and half years. I have previously worked in customer service environment in Belgium and I am very experienced in being clear, concise and informative to every customer.
The best feeling is that when I finish my working day I know I have been able to improve and help people who need our help and that they are pleased with my customer care as well as the rest of the team. This is what I enjoy the most. With our customers they need the help of medical oxygen and everything has to be arranged in time, so no delays are possible so we can ensure the patient has no worries about receiving the oxygen on time and in the correct destination.
In Belgium I hardly had to speak any other language than Dutch or French. Now we communicate with people all over the world, so all our staff need to be multilingual. I really enjoy being able to communicate with different people across the globe and also improve my language skills at the same time. Speaking, translating and writing in 5 different languages gives our customers the best possible service we can give.
The strangest experience I have experienced so far is was with a patient who wanted to come to our office to thank us personally for the excellent service we had given them. Unfortunately he took our mailbox address as the office address and
when he arrived, he phoned us to ask if we were really in there. He did personally thank us over the phone and email and we are looking forward to hopefully a visit to our actual offices soon!
If I had the opportunity to visit a part of the world I haven't been yet, I would choose South America; it must be an amazing continent with a lot of unspoilt nature to be seen.
I am very proud to be celebrating 20 years of OxygenWorldwide this year and hope to be helping more people travel this year.
Contact me at info@oxygenworldwide.com for further details and information on travelling with medical oxygen abroad or visit www.oxygenworldwide.com to enquire or read more about our team and how we have been supporting customers for 20 years.
Oxygen Travel in Marijke's care
Name: Marijke
5 year anniversary at OxygenWorldwide
Nationality: Dutch
Loves: speaking different languages and being able to communicate with customers from around the world
I am pleased to say that I have been part of OxygenWorldwide care team for 5 wonderful years. I really enjoy each and every day of my work with the company and gain fantastic job satisfaction caring and helping our customers plan their travels to many parts of the world.
My nationality is Dutch and I am the oldest (in age) member of the OxygenWorldWide team. I am married with a Spanish husband and have 2 children. My experience and background has always been to provide excellent customer service and care to all my clients, but my job at OxygenWorldwide gives me the opportunity to regularly translate, speak and converse in the 5 languages I am fluent in. I really enjoy the opportunity to communicate with people from every corner of the world.
Most of all it feels satisfying to be helping people realize their dream to travel abroad and because I am so involved from day one in their plans it almost seems that I am travelling together with them day by day. Clients sometimes send us their holiday photos of all the destinations they have visited from London and France to America and Africa, which I really enjoy receiving.
The strangest experience over the past five years was when we supplied liquid oxygen to Israel/Jerusalem for a patient doing a roundtrip on a tour bus but the itinerary included Palestina/Bethlehem and we were all a little nervous about delivery but also confident that even in certain areas we can still deliver all expectations and care to our customers.
In the future I would love to visit one of the countries in the Balkan region as I am very intrigued by the culture, nature and a destination that I have never travelled to.
I am very proud to be celebrating 20 years of OxygenWorldwide this year and hope to be helping more people travel this year.
Contact me at info@oxygenworldwide.com for further details and information on travelling with medical oxygen abroad or visit www.oxygenworldwide.com to enquire or read more about our team and how we have been supporting customers for 20 years.
AirSep exec wins National Medal of Technology and Innovation
AirSep exec wins National Medal of Technology and Innovation
Norman McCombs, a University at Buffaloalumnus and executive at Amherst-basedAirSep Corp., has been awarded the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, the U.S. government’s highest honor for technological achievement.
McCombs, who lives in Tonawanda, “developed an oxygen production system that spawned a billion dollar industry and helped ease the pain of millions suffering from lung diseases,” according to a release issued by UB. He is AirSep’s senior vice president of research and development.
President Obama will present the medal to McCombs and other award winners at a Feb. 1 ceremony at the White House.
The award is administered for the White House by the U.S. Department of Commerce’sPatent and Trademark Office and recognizes those “who have made lasting contributions to America’s competitiveness and quality of life and helped strengthen the nation’s technological workforce,” according to a White House statement.
McCombs is the third person with UB ties to receive the medal. Former engineering professor Esther Takeuchi was honored in 2007 for developing a battery used to power implantable cardiac defibrillators. Wilson Greatbatch, founder of Greatbatch Inc. and a UB alumnus and faculty member, received the award in 1990.
McCombs developed a method of separating gases that produces oxygen, leading to a device called an oxygen concentrator, which is used to treat people suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. There are currently about 1.2 million oxygen concentrators in the U.S. alone, a more than $2 billion industry.
Dan Miner is Business First's enterprise reporter. He also covers education and public companies.
Medical oxygen and you
Home oxygen treatment involves breathing high concentrations of oxygen from a cylinder or machine in your home.
The main purpose of home oxygen treatment is to raise your blood oxygen to a level that prevents such harm. It also helps relieve breathlessness and other symptoms of low blood oxygen, such as ankle swelling and blue lips.
How home oxygen treatment can help
Breathing air with a higher concentration of oxygen can help increase the amount of oxygen in your blood. This makes it easier to do activities that might otherwise be more difficult. It also helps reduce the symptoms mentioned above.
Oxygen therapy can help people with a range of health conditions that affect breathing or blood circulation, including:
- chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) - a long-term disease of the lungs
- severe long-term asthma
- cystic fibrosis - an inherited disease that causes the lungs to become clogged with thick, sticky mucus
- pulmonary hypertension - high pressure inside the arteries to the lungs, which causes damage to the right-hand side of the heart
- obstructive sleep apnoea - a condition that causes interrupted breathing during sleep
- diseases of the nerves and muscles or ribcage
- heart failure - when the heart struggles to pump enough blood around the body
People who have oxygen therapy have different requirements. Some people only need oxygen therapy for short periods during the day, when they're walking about (ambulatory oxygen). Others need it for longer periods and during the night.
Oxygen concentrator machineAn oxygen concentrator machine is convenient if you would benefit from having oxygen for a large number of hours a day, including while you're asleep. It ensures you have a source of oxygen that never runs out.
A back-up cylinder of oxygen is also provided in case the machine breaks down. Regular maintenance visits will be made to make sure the concentrator is always working properly.
Portable cylinders can provide oxygen at a rate of 2 litres or 4 litres a minute, or have an adjustable scale up to 4 litres a minute. The flow required is determined by your lung specialist or the oxygen service healthcare professional. When full, these cylinders weigh just over five pounds (2.3kg) and hold just under two hours of oxygen (at 2 litres a minute).
Going on holiday
If you are going on holiday in England or abroad you can make arrangements to have home oxygen supplied to you at your destination. Before you arrange your holiday, check with your doctor that you are well enough to travel.
For more information visit OxygenWorldwide or speak to one of our advisors
Use Medical Oxygen? Warm those muscles
We all know that exercising is important for a healthy lifestyle, so get out there and get moving! But before you get too far, remember to warm up your muscles by stretching. Flexibility exercises can help loosen up your body, helping you to feel better and more comfortable on a daily basis. You should stretch before all physical activity, even walking. So follow these simple steps to a more flexible body.
If you feel pain, stop immediately and consult your physician or therapist. Never bounce while stretching; make steady movements that help your muscles stretch naturally.
Leg stretch: Sit in a chair with your legs bent in front of you. Straighten your right leg as much as possible without locking your knee. Lengthen your spine then lean forward reaching your hands toward your feet. Hold the stretch for 20 to 30 seconds, then rest and repeat with a flexed foot. Repeat the routine on your left side.
Chest Stretch: Begin by standing with your arms at your side and feet shoulder-width apart. Extend both arms behind your back and clasp your hands together, if possible. Stop when you feel a good stretch or sense discomfort. Hold this position for 20 to 30 seconds, then rest and repeat.
Quadriceps Stretch: Stand next to a sturdy chair or a counter with your feet about shoulder-width apart. Use the left hand to hold onto the chair or counter for balance. Slowly, bend your right knee back grabbing your right ankle with your right hand until your thigh is straight up and down. Do not lean forward or backward, but stand up straight. (If you can't grasp your ankle in your hand, just keep your leg as close to perpendicular as possible and hold the bend, or place your foot on the seat of a chair.) Hold the stretch for 30 seconds then repeat on the left side.
Don’t worry if you can’t touch your toes or stretch as far as others, just do your best and improve over time.
