Ozone and oxygen
Medical ozone
Medical ozone is ozone generated from a pure oxygen feed — a medical oxygen cylinder or concentrator — rather than from ambient air. An air feed also produces nitrogen oxides. The phrase describes the feed gas and the gas path, not a regulatory certification.
Also called oxygen-ozone
What the phrase describes
An ozone generator does not filter anything. It applies a high-voltage discharge to whatever gas passes through it, so whatever is in the feed gas ends up in the output. Medical ozone means ozone made from a medical oxygen source — a cylinder or a concentrator — rather than from room air.
The chemistry is the reason. When air is used as the feed gas, a small proportion of the nitrogen is converted to nitrogen oxides — the Dégremont water treatment handbook cites up to 500 ppm by volume, mainly N2O5 and N2O — and with water vapour present these form nitric acid, which deposits on the generator’s dielectric. A concentrated oxygen feed removes that variable.
It also implies materials
Ozone attacks most things it touches, so a generator described as medical has to be built from materials that survive its own output — stainless steel and glass in the gas path rather than rubber or nylon. Salvagente builds with 304 and 316 stainless steel and silicone for that reason. See Ozone-resistant materials.
What the phrase covers
“Medical” here describes how the gas is made. It is not a claim of regulatory approval or licensing in any particular market, and regulation of ozone therapy differs substantially from one country to the next. Read it as a statement about the feed gas and the gas path.
Why it matters here
If you are looking at more than one ozone sauna, the feed gas is a useful thing to ask about. A generator running on room air produces a different and dirtier gas than one fed with concentrated oxygen.