Health Care and Medical

Oxygen is crucial to human life and, therefore, crucial to the health care and medical industry. The health care industry (including hospitals and home health care) is the largest consumer of liquid oxygen, with over one-third of total consumption.

According to Ghana Health Service, there are nearly 5 million hospital admissions each year, many of which require some level of oxygen therapy or supplementary oxygen. Patients suffering a range of chronic and acute medical conditions require additional oxygen, either pure or in a mixture, such as in the treatment of emphysema, asthma, pneumonia and COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease).

Numerous other industrial gases are also used in the health care field: Xenon and liquid helium are used in MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scanners. Xenon is also used in CAT scanners; krypton can be used in brain x-rays; and liquid argon is used in cryosurgery, to target cancer cells.