WITH THE EXCEPTION of the at-home transfilling systems introduced within the last two years by Invacare and Chad, little has changed in concentrators for several years, manufacturers acknowledge. But that could be changing soon.

"The pace of change is picking up here," says Ed Radtke of SeQual Technologies. He and other manufacturers say that new technologies will spark new products.

Stuart Bassine of OxLife predicts that a concentrator will be developed that will replace liquid and cylinder. "It will be able to be used on a plane because there is no liquid or cylinder gas. It will be battery-powered and under 15 pounds."

Radtke says compressors will become "lighter, smaller, quieter and have longer service intervals. Right now, everyone just accepts the fact that you have to rebuild the compressor two or three times during its life cycle."

Payer demand for compliance data will also result in concentrators that offer information on how a patient is using a product, how the product is performing and whether it needs servicing, Radtke says.

In the end, says Tom Steinhauer of Sunrise Medical, what payers and patients want boils down to, 'I want an oxygen concentrator that's reliable, is quiet, has a good warranty, is X number of dollars and is predictable.'"

And that is what shapes product development. -S.H.