An Introduction to Ventra: A Programmable Abdominal Phantom for Training, Educational, Research, and Development...

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Critical Care Medicine
• Medical Device Development

Background:

• Elevated intra-abdominal pressure (IAP) critically impacts organ perfusion in critically ill patients.
• Current IAP measurement relies on bladder-based methods, the established gold standard.
• New IAP measurement devices require validation against established standards.

Purpose of the Study:

• Introduce Ventra, an abdominal phantom for simulating IAP, compliance, and respiratory variations.
• Facilitate development and validation of novel IAP measurement devices.
• Provide a low-cost, effective tool for research and education in IAP measurement.

Main Methods:

• Ventra's performance validated using pressure gauges and intra-gastric/intra-bladder devices.
• Bland-Altman analysis assessed bias, precision, and limits of agreement.
• Concordance analysis evaluated Ventra's ability to track IAP changes.

Main Results:

• Phantom showed excellent agreement with reference pressures (0.11 ± 0.49 mmHg bias).
• Achieved 100% concordance coefficient, accurately simulating abdominal compliance and volume changes.
• Demonstrated precise bladder fill volume measurements (0.90 ± 4.33 mL difference).

Conclusions:

• Ventra meets world abdominal society guidelines for IAP measurement validation.
• The phantom is a reliable tool for developing and validating new IAP measurement devices.
• Ventra serves as an effective educational resource for biomedical engineering students.