AETHERUS

Aetherus wants to break the Dyspnoea Cycle that so many COPD patients are stuck in. By offering a portable, easy-to-use, non-pharmaceutical device to get quick relief from dyspnoea when it occurs, we aim to instantly improve patients’ wellbeing when it is most needed and boost their confidence and strength to keep doing the things they love to do.

Our device fills a void in (self-)management of the disease as an adjunct therapy in support of the patients’ current medication and therapy, making the treatment more complete and more effective.
Breathlessness (dyspnoea) is considered to be the most debilitating symptom of COPD. This frightening feeling of suffocation is often induced by exertion, and leads to avoidance of these activities, which in turn decreases physical conditions making episodes of breathlessness more frequent and severe. This is called the dyspnoea cycle.

At Aetherus we believe that rapid relief of breathlessness breaks this cycle: Decreasing (the fear of) breathlessness not only has an immediate effect on the patient’s wellbeing, it also enables patients to (re)engage in activities they love to do, with confidence knowing that possible occurrence of breathlessness can be managed effectively. This active lifestyle is in its turn one of the most important contributors to delaying the progression of COPD.

Most COPD therapies focus on long term management of the disease. Aetherus focuses on the immediate unmet need of relief of breathlessness, with positive long term impact.
Aetherus applies a non-pharmaceutical, non-invasive bilevel positive airway pressure technology in its proprietary handheld portable device, to relief COPD patients rapidly from breathlessness, whenever and wherever.

FAQ

Yes it can, as a matter of fact, the device may enhance the efficacy of your (prescribed) therapies.

No, you should not. Most therapies have a (long-term) effect on the progression of COPD and should not be dropped. The device is intended to provide rapid relief of breathlessness as a symptom and it is not intended as a stand-alone therapy to manage (the progression of) COPD.

No, there are no limitations to how often or how long you can use the device. There are no side effects nor physical dependency caused by the device.

No, using the device does not require any training or technique to be used effectively. Its use is very intuitive, even if shortness of breath is distracting you.

Yes, the device is classified as a Category IIA medical device in Europe.

The device runs on battery power and compresses ambient air. It does not require medication or oxygen supply or any other additive. It just needs to be charged (and will work for 3 days on a full battery).

The device was designed to relief from breathlessness, not prevent it, however, because it may be used at will and anytime, you may use it when the first signs of breathlessness come up to avoid actual shortness of breath to materialize. Some people even use the device during certain activities to avoid developing signs of starting shortness of breath.

Results may vary as COPD affects everyone differently. In a clinical test, the recovery time from dyspnoea was measured for patients with moderate to severe COPD, with and without the use of the device:

  • Without the device, only 4% of the group recovered within one minute. Of the same group, the use of the device improved this proportion to 25%
  • Without the device, 30% of the group recovered within 3 minutes. With the device 63% of the group did.
  • Without the device, 58% took more than 5 minutes to recover, whereas of the same group, this was reduced to only 21% when using the device