Adult HME Filter

An HME filter (Heat and Moisture Exchanger filter, often called an "artificial nose") is a medical device used in respiratory care to warm, humidify, and filter inhaled air for patients on mechanical ventilation or with a tracheostomy. 

How It Works

• Captures Heat and Moisture: It traps the heat and moisture from the patient's exhaled breath inside a hygroscopic element (such as paper or foam treated with calcium chloride). 
  

• Returns Humidity: During inhalation, it releases that stored warmth and moisture back into the incoming air to prevent the upper airway from drying out.
  

• Microbiological Filtration: Many variants include a bacterial/viral filter (HMEF) that blocks pathogens from entering or leaving the breathing circuit.