Helping patients breathe easier

Heliox therapy can be used on a wide range of patients – from infants to adults and for all invasive and noninvasive ventilation modes, as well as in High Flow therapy. In combination with the integrated Aerogen nebulizer, it is often used as an adjuvant treatment while waiting for the onset of conventional pharmacological treatments.

Reduction of airway resistance: Heliox reduces air flow resistance within the bronchial tree in patients with obstructive lung disease.^[2],[3],[4]
Reduction in the work of breathing: The low density of Heliox improves expiratory flow and decreases resistivework of breathing by converting density dependent turbulent air flow within the airways to laminar flow.^[4]

Heliox improves aerosol deposition, with up to 50% more drug delivered, primarily because helium’s density is lower than air or oxygen, and the lower density means less gas turbulence and less aerosol-particle-impaction loss in the tubing and patient airways.^{[3],[4],[5],[6]}

Over the past 70 years, Heliox has been used as adjunctive therapy to overcome airflow-obstruction disorders, and been proven to be a safe therapy. Its low density makes it more fluid under conditions or turbulence, promoting a more laminar flow and helping patients to breathe more easily.

In the illustration above, you can see how the application of Heliox therapy promotes a smoother airflow and easier work of breathing in a typical asthma patient. To the left, note the turbulent air flow that arises in the asthma airway when breathing air/oxygen. By contrast, to the left we see how Heliox improves the laminar flow of breathing, with less turbulence.

The Heliox option can be integrated into your Servo ventilators to provide you with even more therapy options for more personalized ventilation. You can quickly and easily switch between air and Heliox during ventilation without going to standby, saving time and improving comfort for the patient.

When switching gas from air and O₂ to Heliox and back, volume and CO₂ monitoring as well as flow delivery are adjusted automatically by the ventilator’s Automatic Gas Identification. Heliox delivery is confirmed by the presence of the "HeO₂" symbol on the screen. O₂ concentration is easily adjusted between 21% - 100% and information texts facilitate Heliox administration in every mode.

Your ability to wean patients with more options will support a better clinical result. In addition, the low gas consumption of Servo ventilators makes Heliox therapy cost effective to use. The Heliox therapy, can be added to your Servo-u, Servo-u MR or Servo-n ventilators. However, please note that Heliox therapy is not available in the neonatal patient category.

• Minimizes airway resistance due to laminar flow
• Cost-efficient due to low gas consumption
• Can be combined with all ventilation modes, from invasive to NIV, High Flow therapy and nebulization
• Quick and easy to switch from Heliox to air and back during ventilation
• Adjustable O2 concentration, 21% – 100%