Breakthrough for Breathing

Reported September 2006

ORLANDO, Fla. (Ivanhoe Broadcast News) -- Most healthy people take for granted the simple act of breathing, but anyone with respiratory problems knows how precious each breath is to their existence. Patients often rely on traditional ventilators, but they sometimes cause more problems than solutions. Now, a new technology may make breathing ... a breeze.

For many, a ventilator can mean the difference between life and death, but doctors say the machine has its drawbacks.

In some, the gas that comes out of the ventilator is completely dry. Oxygen passes over heated water and then travels through this long tube to the patient. Because it's so far away from the patient's mouth, the water often condenses, which can sometimes contaminate the water.

Using the same technology used in spray air fresheners and perfumes, engineers have developed a new way to create water vapor that hydrates the oxygen closer to the patient's mouth.

Dean Hess Ph.D., RRT, FAARC, assistant director of respiratory care at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, says it makes the patient's breathing more comfortable.

"The whole idea of the hydrate is to keep that whole line dry, so there is not water sitting around," says Norman Tiffin, BSc , RRT, MSA, of PARI Respiratory Equipment in Monterey, California.

The vaporizer uses "capillary force," which mimics the way a tree draws water from its roots. The molecules are squeezed together, and that force is stronger than gravity, so the water goes up.

The PARI hydrate vaporizer will be available to doctors in March 2007.

Click here to Go Inside This Science or contact:

PARI Respiratory Equipment
2943 Oak Lake Blvd
Midlothian, VA 23112
(877) 943- 3931

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