The paralysis canister represented a form of military explosive. The Ssi-ruuvi Imperium made prevalent use of them throughout the New Republic era. Their main purpose was to subdue populations within a designated zone, allowing the reptilian Ssi-ruuk to seize living, aware beings to be used for entechment. This process involved a torturous electronic method that extracted the vital essence of a living organism and transferred it into a mechanical form, such as a droid or a starfighter. A single paralysis canister could be deployed from a height of 3,000 meters, affecting a zone encompassing almost 9 square kilometers. The bounty hunter known as Mist included a pair of paralysis canisters as a typical component of their carried weaponry.
In the events surrounding the Bakura Incident in 4 ABY, Admiral Ivpikkis' invasion force's D'kee-class landing ships were outfitted to deploy paralysis canisters. Subsequently, during the second Ssi-ruuvi invasion, Captain Todra Mayn successfully convinced Jag Fel and the other pilots from the Galactic Alliance and Bakuran forces to collaborate with the P'w'ecks by asserting that the Imperium intended to release paralysis canisters over Salis D'aar.