Bench evaluation of 7 home-care ventilators

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Respiratory Care
• Medical Device Technology

Background:

• Portable ventilators are decreasing in size and increasing in performance.
• Bench testing of seven portable ventilators (LTV 1000, LTV 1200, Puritan Bennett 540, Trilogy, Vela, iVent 101, and HT50) was conducted.
• Key performance metrics evaluated included triggering, battery duration, and tidal volume (V(T)) delivery.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the performance of seven portable ventilators.
• To compare triggering sensitivity, battery duration, and tidal volume accuracy across different models.
• To identify potential limitations in ventilator performance under specific settings.

Main Methods:

• Simulated spontaneous breathing using a modified dual-chamber test lung to assess triggering.
• Measured battery duration by operating ventilators until breath delivery ceased under standardized settings (500 mL V(T), 20 breaths/min, 5 cm H(2)O PEEP).
• Evaluated V(T) accuracy using pediatric (50-100 mL V(T)) and adult (400 mL V(T)) ventilation scenarios, measuring airway pressure, volume, and flow signals.

Main Results:

• Measured V(T) ranged from 362-426 mL in adult settings and 51-182 mL in pediatric settings.
• The Vela and HT50 ventilators did not meet American Society for Testing and Materials standards for V(T) accuracy on specific pediatric settings.
• Significant variability was observed in triggering response and battery duration among the tested devices.

Conclusions:

• There is substantial variability in battery duration and triggering sensitivity among portable ventilators.
• Five of the seven ventilators demonstrated adequate V(T) delivery across various settings.
• Two ventilators exhibited performance issues when subjected to high respiratory rates combined with low V(T).