Exploring Biomarkers in the Heat and Moisture Exchange Filters

When patients undergo major surgery, they are connected to a ventilator during anesthesia. A heat and moisture exchange filter (HME filter) is routinely placed in the ventilator tubing to ensure that the inhaled air is warm and humidified. Today, HME filters are used routinely in all ventilator treatments. They are typically replaced once a day and discarded as regular waste after use. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether HME filters contain proteins and small biological particles from the patient's exhaled air.