Analyzing Aerosol Generation with Various Oxygen Delivery Methods

"Appropriate oxygen therapy to patients while minimizing risk to healthcare workers is debated. Previous studies examining aerosol or droplet formation with high flow nasal cannula or non-invasive positive pressure ventilation have been on mannequins or not quantified the amount of aerosol generated, which limits clinical applicability," said Nate Gaeckle, MD, assistant professor, Department of Medicine, who is leading this study. "Given the need to protect healthcare workers from exposure to the virus, appropriate thresholds and use of advanced oxygen therapy needs to be clarified." Gaeckle is collaborating with Chris Hogan, PhD, professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, whose research focus is on aerosol science. They will evaluate different oxygen delivery devices and flows, and measure aerosol generation from the respiratory tract in healthy people. They plan to use these results to help design a future trial of subjects with acute pulmonary disease in order to set appropriate flow thresholds for high flow nasal cannula and pressure settings for non-invasive positive pressure ventilation. This will help to mitigate COVID-19 aerosolization.