2007 OPEN FORUM Abstracts
AEROSOL CHARACTERIZATION OF A NEW NEBULIZER FOR HELIOX SOURCE GAS
N. Tiffin1, R. Vohra2, L. Weinstein2, S. Nowak2
Objective: Nebulizers designed for use with oxygen or air require high flows of heliox to create aerosol in the respirable range. This aerosol is not well characterized for standard nebulizers and the high flow of heliox is costly. The objective of this study was to characterize the performance of a new nebulizer designed for use with Heliox (80/20) gas and compare it to an industry standard nebulizers.
Method: Using a Malvern Spraytec laser diffractor we measured the aerosol particle size (VMD), total output rate (TOR), respiratory fraction (RF) and calculated the respiratory drug delivery rate (RDDR = TOR x RF). Heliox flows of 7, 9 and 15 L/min were used and normal saline was nebulized. We performed 3 trials with each flow.
Results: Table One shows the characterization for each nebulizer. Respiratory drug delivery rate (RDDR) is the product of total output rate (TOR) and respiratory fraction (RF).
Conclusions: Small changes in heliox flowrate can inordinately alter the aerosol characteristics. The Pronto Heliox disposable nebulizer provides excellent nebulization performance using a flow of 9 lpm of heliox source gas (80/20) similar to an industry standard breath enhanced reusable nebulizers at flow rates of 15 lpm. The Pronto Heliox has the potential to save heliox gas and provide the clinician with an alternative to other nebulizers which have not been designed for heliox and which have not been characterized with alternative gas sources.
| Gas | Flowrate (L/min) | VMD (um) | RF .1-5 (%) | TOR (ml/min) | RDDR (ml/min) | |
| Pronto Heliox | Heliox | 7 | 5.8 | 46.9 | .257 | .120 |
| Pronto Heliox | Heliox | 9 | 2.4 | 71.4 | .342 | .244 |
| LC Plus | Heliox | 15 | 3.6 | 61.9 | .478 | .295 |
| 8900 | Heliox | 7 | 6.7 | 40.2 | .202 | .081 |
VMD = volume mean diameter particle size; RF = respiratory fraction (.1 - 5.0); TOR = total output rate of nebulizer; RDDR = RF X RF (respirable drug delivered to the patient over time)