Performance of transport ventilator with patient-triggered ventilation

Area of Science:

• Mechanical Ventilation
• Respiratory Care Engineering

Background:

• Transport ventilators with advanced features (inspiratory triggering, pressure support-control) are now available.
• Comparison with standard Intensive Care Unit (ICU) ventilators is needed.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the performance of new transport ventilators against a standard ICU ventilator.
• To assess inspiratory and expiratory functions, and oxygen consumption.

Main Methods:

• Laboratory study using a mechanical lung model simulating spontaneous breathing.
• Compared four transport ventilators (Mallinckrodt 740, Bird TBird, Pulmonetic LTV1000, Respironics Esprit) with a Mallinckrodt 7200ae ICU ventilator.
• Evaluated inspiratory delay time, trigger pressure, pressure rise time, expiratory pressure, time constant, and oxygen requirement under various settings.

Main Results:

• Most transport ventilators exhibited clinically satisfactory inspiratory delay times (<100 ms).
• Expiratory time constants were significantly shorter for transport ventilators compared to the ICU unit.
• Esprit ventilator showed the lowest oxygen requirement, followed by 740, LTV1000, and TBird.

Conclusions:

• Newer FDA-approved transport ventilators show performance comparable to ICU ventilators.
• These transport ventilators are likely suitable for clinical application in critical care settings.