Medical compressed gases

Medical compressed gases can be medicines or health products. These include gases in gaseous phase packaged at a pressure of 200 or 300 bars for healthcare use.

The most common are:

• Medical air. Non-toxic gas used in ventilators for anaesthesia or resuscitation.
• Medical carbon dioxide. Inert gas used in endoscopies, laparoscopies, colonoscopies, arthroscopies, and diagnosis through cell cultures.
• Medical helium. Noble gas used in cryotherapy to remove abnormal tissues and tumours and in a liquid state in MRI scans. It is also used mixed with oxygen to clear upper respiratory passages.
• Medical oxygen. The most used gas. It is used in oxygen therapy, aerosol therapy, anaesthesia, and resuscitation.
• Nitric oxide. Colourless gas used as a pulmonary vasodilator and to improve the oxygenation and circulation of blood.
• Medical nitrous oxide. Also known as dinitrogen oxide, it is a gas for anaesthesia and analgesia.
• Pulmonary function gas mixtures. Mixtures composed of two or three gases, applied to measure diffusing capacity, pulmonary blood flow, and diagnosing pulmonary function.
• Nodolox. A gas mixture of 50 % oxygen and 50 % nitrous oxide for inhaled analgesia with a calming and sedative effect.