DUBLIN, Mar. 04, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/z3rlhf/oxygen) has announced the addition of a new report "Oxygen Concentrators: Market Shares, Strategies, and Forecasts to 2018" to their offering.

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Worldwide markets are poised to achieve continuing growth as the aging population worldwide needs homecare oxygen treatment. Older people develop COPD and other respiratory conditions where oxygen is able to improve the quality of the life in a dramatic manner. Portable devices have become affordable and support a mobile lifestyle even while on oxygen.

There has been a quantum improvement in the portable oxygen concentrator technology. Less weight, more power are the characteristics of the new portable units that begin to rival the larger home units. The huge jump in technology is illustrated by the effectiveness of the Inogen G3 and the about to be released VBox Trooper. Innovation started with Inogen One G3 and AirSep's LifeStyle are the less-than-10-pound battery-operated concentrator. AirSep has re-engineered the unit down to a 2 pound device.

Newer portable oxygen concentrators can be used as multipurpose devices.

Oxygen concentrator technology has been instantiated many times over, but in a most compelling manner by Inogen as the Inogen oxygen concentrator which represents a technological breakthrough. The Inogen One G3 is a complete departure from current mainstream technologies. It represents a shift away from standard large, bulky, stationary concentrator systems and inefficient, heavy, and impractical portable devices.

This transformation presents a new opportunity for people who make PSA oxygen equipment. Economies of scale and a new distribution modality leveraging homecare services are set to change the medical oxygen industry. Home delivery markets tend to be evaporating.

Delivering oxygen cylinders costs money and consumes resources. In current competitive bidding markets, reimbursement for oxygen is down by up to a third. Providers in these markets are compensating for this reduction by moving their oxygen business to a non-delivery model.

Philips medical chronic disease equipment is able to address market trends. Invacare has been a continuing market leader in articulating the benefits of homecare.

The complexion of the home oxygen market is changing as portable concentrators evolve to be smaller and less expensive. The advent of reliable, inexpensive portable home oxygen concentrators has changed the market dynamic significantly.

The market for oxygen concentrators is being disrupted by the portable devices that can be used to provide oxygen under all circumstances. The reimbursement is too low to support what worked in the past. This is a dramatic shift in the home medical oxygen market.

The move from a primary delivery with a cost structure that accounts for truck rolls to a portable device market is set to bring dramatic changes to the industry. For vendors that have relied on the distribution network and financing the distribution network, their hold on the market has shifted.

Oxygen concentrator markets at $242.5 million in 2012 are anticipated to reach $1.9 billion dollars by 2019. Growth is a result of new competitors in the market, demand for the smaller lighter technology by patients, and the market need by for greater mobility support for older people.

Key Topics Covered:

1. OXYGEN CONCENTRATOR MARKET DESCRIPTION AND MARKET DYNAMICS

2. OXYGEN CONCENTRATOR MARKET SHARES AND FORECASTS

3. OXYGEN CONCENTRATOR PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

4. OXYGEN CONCENTRATOR TECHNOLOGY

5. RESPIRATORY EQUIPMENT COMPANY DESCRIPTION

Companies Mentioned:

• Air Liquide
• Braun and Company
• CareFusion / Intermed Equipment
• CareFusion Respiratory Care
• Chart Industries
• Covidien
• DeVilbiss Healthcare
• Drive Medical
• Dräger
• Fanem
• Fisher & Paykel Healthcare
• GE Healthcare
• GE Healthcare Regional P&Ls
• Gardner Denver / Thomas Compressors
• Getinge Group AB / Maquet
• Graham Field
• Hamilton Medical
• Heinen & Loewenstein GmbH & Co
• Inogen
• Inogen Acquires Breathe Oxygen Services
• Inova Labs
• Invacare
• Jiuxin Medical
• Leistung Engineering
• Longfian Scitech
• Merits
• Nidek Medical
• O2 Concepts
• OSI Systems
• Philips Healthcare
• Philips Lumileds
• Philips Lumileds Quality White Lighting with LEDs
• ResMed Sleep Disordered Breathing (SDB)
• Smiths Group plc / Smiths Medical
• Teijin
• Teleflex Incorporated / Teleflex Medical
• Terumo
• Thomas Vacuum Pumps, Compressors and Liquid Pumps
• UltraNebs
• VBox Trooper
• Vitality Medical
• Vygon

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/z3rlhf/oxygen

Media Contact: Laura Wood , +353-1-481-1716, press@researchandmarkets.net

SOURCE Research and Markets