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Variability in Mechanical Ventilation: What's All the Noise About?
Bhiken I Naik1, Carl Lynch2, Charles G Durbin2
1Department of Anesthesiology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia. bin4n@virginia.edu.
Respiratory Care
|February 19, 2015
Summary
Adding controlled variability and noise to mechanical ventilation may improve lung function. This approach utilizes stochastic resonance to help recruit collapsed alveoli, offering a potential benefit over fixed-rate breathing.
Area of Science:
- Pulmonary physiology
- Biomedical engineering
- Critical care medicine
Background:
- Controlled mechanical ventilation typically uses fixed breathing frequency and tidal volume.
- Physiological and mathematical models suggest benefits from varying ventilation parameters.
- Lung mechanics represent a nonlinear biological system susceptible to external influences.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the mechanisms of physiological pulmonary variability.
- To explain the principles of noise and stochastic resonance in biological systems.
- To explore the emerging benefits of variability during mechanical ventilation.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing physiological and mathematical models.
- Analysis of the principles of noise and stochastic resonance.
- Synthesis of current understanding regarding mechanical ventilation variability.
Main Results:
- Variability in tidal volume and/or inspiratory pressure can be beneficial.
- Addition of noise can induce stochastic resonance in the lungs.
- Stochastic resonance aids in the recruitment of collapsed alveoli and atelectatic lung segments.
Conclusions:
- Physiological pulmonary variability plays a crucial role in lung function.
- Stochastic resonance induced by noise offers a mechanism for improving ventilation.
- Variability during mechanical ventilation presents a promising therapeutic strategy for lung recruitment.
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