The two firms will study the effects of drug delivery systems that are fitted with a customised nebuliser that uses Heliox, the common name for mixtures of helium and oxygen.
Heliox is three times lighter than air, and it is hoped that the creation of an innovative Heliox delivery device will help critically ill patients by delivering oxygen and aerosol to the lungs with less effort than breathing air.
Such a device would particularly benefit the delivery range of aerosol therapies used to treat exacerbations of conditions such as asthma, COPD, and bronchiolitis.
"Our collaboration with BOC marks an important step towards a commercially available aerosol delivery system that optimizes results using gases other than air or enriched oxygen," said Werner Gutmann, President of PARI Respiratory Equipment.
The two companies expect to make initial study results available later this year.