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Mechanical ventilators deliver gas at
a pressure and flow which results in a change in patient lung volume.
Before waveform graphics became integral components of ventilator systems,
ventilator monitoring was restricted to reading the ventilator's controls,
digital monitors and mechanical gauges as well as physical assessments.
Detailed analysis of the patient/ventilator interface was, therefore,
impossible. Technological advances now permit continuous Respiratory
Mechanics monitoring, including graphic display of gas flow, volume, and
airway pressure. Output waveforms are useful tools to study the
characteristics of ventilator operation and provide a graphic display of the
various modes of ventilation. Waveform analysis can be used to
optimize mechanical ventilatory support and analyze ventilator incidents and
alarm conditions. Using this technology, it is now possible to shape
the form of ventilatory support to improve patient-ventilator synchrony,
reduce work of breathing, and calculate a variety of physiologic parameters
related to Respiratory Mechanics.1
We have developed several products to
assist the medical device manufacturer in adding Respiratory Mechanics
monitoring to ventilators or standalone monitors.
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