Tension Management for Oxygen Tubing

This project was developed during a 72 hour Tikkum Olam Makers (TOM) make-a-thon hosted by makerspace Nova Labs. TOM is a global movement of Makers using their talents and creativity to design assistive technology for people with disabilities.

Many people need an oxygen air supply to breathe, which involves long cords of oxygen tubing hooked up between an oxygen supply unit and the user's face and nose. If the user is moving around, the tubes can easily get caught on something, yielding to painful and dangerous yanks. One such user, Judy, came to us asking for a way to manage the tubing on her portable oxygen tank in a way that would work for her active lifestyle. In particular, Judy wanted to have some "give" in her tubing so she could have a warning sign before her nasal cannula (the part of the tubing that is inserted into her nose) was accidentally yanked out.

This solution involves a system of clips and rubber bands that allows the tubing to automatically lengthen and shorten without having unsafe slack left hanging.

See these other instructables for other solutions we made for Judy:

Quick Release for Medical Air Tubing

Cannula Glasses Clips

Project homepage - includes related products for oxygen users.

This project requires 3d-printed tube holders. The STL file is attached here, the units are millimeters. Find a friend with a 3d printer or use third-party service. We used PLA for our version, but other materials should work as well.

Since 3d printed parts can vary slightly in dimension, it's a good idea to print a test clip first. You can add as many clips as desired to create more "coils" in the tubing.