Yonago Acta medica 1999;42:185–188
Membrane Humidifier That Does Not Require Addition of Water
Naoto Burioka, Hiroki Chikumi, Hisashi Suyama, Takanori Sako, Hidemi
Teramoto, Yukio Matsumoto and Kazukiyo Takano*
Third Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Tottori University, Yonago 683-0826 and *Sanyo Electric Industries, Okayama 703-8221, Japan
We developed a new device called "a membrane humidifier" which does not require an external water supply. Fifteen patients inhaled humidified-oxygen from the membrane humidifier and were asked about their subjective impression. The relative humidity of room air and that of humidified-oxygen from the membrane humidifier or a conventional bubble water humidifier were measured with a digital hygrometer. The relative humidity of the oxygen humidified by humidifiers was measured after the gas was flowed into a partially opened 500-mL container for 30 min. None of the patients experienced dryness of the nose or throat. All patients answered that there was no difference in their subjective impression between breathing oxygen from the membrane humidifier and from the conventional bubble water humidifier. A significant regression was observed between the relative humidity of room air and that of the oxygen humidified from the membrane humidifier. The membrane humidifier was able to produce humidification very well. This new compact device can be used not only in hospitals, but can also be incorporated in home oxygen concentrators. This new device also saves the procedure of changing water.
Key words: humidifier; humidity; membrane humidifier
