When a patient suffers from any condition that necessitates mechanical breathing, so this machine is required which passes oxygen. An oxygen cannula is managed if a patient is undergoing severe medical treatment. This high-flow nasal cannula provides optimum oxygen to a patient.
Airflow can improve by converting heat and humidity into high-flow oxygen. The result is an improvement in the health of the individual. There are two types of airflow systems available: Airvo and Optiflow.
Key Takeaways
- Airvo is a humidified high-flow oxygen delivery system, while Optiflow is a high-flow nasal cannula system.
- Airvo provides precise temperature and humidity control for patient comfort, whereas Optiflow focuses on delivering high oxygen flow rates.
- Airvo and Optiflow are used to treat respiratory conditions, but Airvo is more commonly used in hospital settings, while Optiflow is more suitable for home use.
Airvo vs Optiflow
A medical appliance used in hospitals for patients with respiratory problems that provide warm and humidified oxygen to breathe and control shortness of breath is called Airvo. Optiflow is a medical apparatus used for patients with mild respiratory problems, delivering warm and humidified oxygen through nasal passage having low flow oxygen.
Comparison Table
| Parameters of Comparison | AIRVO | OPTIFLOW |
|---|---|---|
| mechanism | It humidifies the airflow. | It is managed as a Nasal cannula for tracheostomy. |
| Functionality | It heats the flow of oxygen that will deliver to a patient. | It combines respiratory gases for a super high flow. |
| gears | It has internal filters, heated plates, an inlet portal, tubes and connecting cables. | It has the interface of tracheostomy. Moreover, it has children’s nasal cannulas and adult cannulas. |
| assistances | You can set the temperature range and airflow range. | You can set pressure dynamically and the oxygen limit according to the patient. It adds a limitation to dead space and improves hydration. |
| FiO₂ rate | Manually oxygen flow rate is from 21-100%. | Software setting with a flow rate of 21-100% |
What is Airvo?
Airvo is a manual high-flow oxygen source called HFNC. It is a category of the artificial respiratory system to provide an exact amount of oxygen to the patient. It has the power to flow oxygen. It is mainly humidified and heated air for asthmatic patients who have trouble breathing independently.
A patient with airway bypass surgery mostly requires this for a secure breathing process. With any interface, it can automatically generate high-flow gases. The design of the Airvo is quite subtle. A water cavity mounted on a heated plate allows the water to be humidified during the process.
During the operation of the machine, a heated breath tube is connected to a port to facilitate breathing. The delivery of oxygen depends on the person. If a person has piped-in oxygen, it may deliver up to 60 ml per minute. If a person has concentrators, they may deliver up to 10 ml per minute.
The plus point of the Airvo is; it washes out CO2 from your lungs and gives you relief in breathing. Another benefit is; a patient may not feel uncomfortable and easily tolerate the process.
Some of the major disadvantages are also there. The running techniques of this machine may always require some assistance from an expert. The device is costly; many well-known hospitals have them in emergency rooms. Some may have problems related to their batteries which are not readily available in the market.
What is Optiflow?
It is generally known as the interface with the tracheostomy. This device is established to maintain the high flow of nasal oxygen. The heated flow rate is mainly fixed FiO₂ at a gas flow rate of up to 70 I.min.
A far-reaching range of oxygen concentrations and flows can be delivered comfortably by Optiflow. It has the unique aptitude to replace traditional oxygen therapy devices with advanced healing capabilities of oxygen. It provides a new level of flexibility to the procedure.
As a result, oxygen therapy will redefine in a whole new way. It has some advanced features of mucociliary clearance and accurate delivery of oxygen. Moreover, it gives comfort in breathing, throwing out dead space and lowering the pressure according to the need.
It is one of the most effective therapy with just a face mask.
Main Differences Between Airvo and Optiflow
- An Airvo is a proper machine with an internal filter. On the other hand, Optiflow is an interface to reduce dead space for improving the upper airway.
- Airvo is mainly used with cannulas, tracheostomies and vented masks. However, Optiflow needs any device to attach with, like Airvo.
- There is no such big difference between them as they both need each other support for a better result.
- Airvo maintains control of the temperature and flow rate of the air (humidified). On the contrary, Optiflow supports airway functions and better throws air experience to a person.
- The airways are hydrated by protecting epithelium along the airways, and mucus is cleared more efficiently with this system.
- http://rc.rcjournal.com/content/59/8/1186.short
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0003497515012229
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Piyush Yadav has spent the past 25 years working as a physicist in the local community. He is a physicist passionate about making science more accessible to our readers. He holds a BSc in Natural Sciences and Post Graduate Diploma in Environmental Science. You can read more about him on his bio page.
