Medical ventilator

A ventilator or respirator is an electrically, or pneumatically controlled today by microprocessors driven machine to ventilate people with insufficient or stopped spontaneous breathing. The breathing gas is often supplemented with oxygen.

Depending on the application, a distinction between emergency, intensive care and Heimrespirator. Also, anesthesia machines are specialized ventilators.

Legislation and standards

As medical devices are subject to ventilators the German and Austrian medical device laws and regulations applicable operator to ensure the implementation of EEC Directive 93/ 42 is a uniformity within the EU and, depending on the type, the standards EN 60601-2-12 and EN 60601-1 - 8, so that the safety for users and patients should be guaranteed. Ventilators as active medical devices may only be used by persons who are qualified for this and instructed in the handling of each device type.

Types of Respirators

Notfallrespiratoren

Notfallrespiratoren, synonymous transport respiration equipment, used mainly in emergency medical services for use and are therefore designed robust. But even in intensive care they are used to transport patients to the operating room about. Parameters such as the oxygen concentration or the inspiration time, can be adjusted continuously on some devices. With these devices is a short term and volume- controlled ventilation, possible, but they can hardly adapt to the patient, so here higher drug doses for sedation may be necessary as in the use of an intensive. Modern Notfallrespiratoren (eg Oxylog 3000, Medumat transport) also have a variety of ( pressure-and volume -controlled ) ventilation modes ( for example, BIPAP ), so that even in the preclinical stage in the transport and intensive medical care to patients beatmender lung protective ventilation options are given.

Intensivrespiratoren

Intensivrespiratoren come for longer and differentiated respiratory therapies under intensive care conditions for use. In principle, all types of ventilation, even the rarer high-frequency ventilation, realized. They have numerous measurement, documentation and alarm options, are better adapted to the patient or to the disease and can be connected to a network.

Only with these devices is one weaning, so the slow reduction of ventilatory support by the device with increasing spontaneous breathing of the patient and thus weaning from the device, possible because this pattern of ventilation are used that allow spontaneous breathing at any time and also, depending on the setting the device support. These are mostly pressure-controlled ventilation modes such as the BiPAP ventilator with a recognition of independent Einatembemühungen of patients and their enabling. Due to the additional function of automatic tube compensation, it is approximately possible to reduce the respiratory effort on the patient so that it has the feeling that he was not intubated.

Heimrespiratoren

Home ventilators are used in patients whose spontaneous breathing is greatly reduced by temporary or permanent disorders of the nervous system or respiratory muscles, but which are nevertheless discharged from the hospital. Home ventilators are built small, so that they can be easily placed in the patient's home. The mobility is somewhat limited by such small respirators because the patient can perform these in battery mode with it. Since wall connections for oxygen or compressed air are usually not available in private homes or nursing homes, such respirators are made so that they are independent. Home ventilators are also easier to use, so that the patients themselves or their relatives can easily arrive in the technology and necessary adjustments can make yourself.

Tankrespiratoren

The iron lung was the first device for mechanical ventilation. An iron lung is not functioning as modern respirators, but the patient is up to his neck in the device and is enclosed airtight by this. After generating a negative pressure in the chamber, the chest expands and ambient air flowing through the airways in the lungs.

Even today are still in rare cases, and almost exclusively for home ventilation, used Unterdruckrespiratoren, such as the cuirass ventilator. These consist of a hard plastic shell, which can also be custom made in Brustkorbdeformitäten. In modern clinical intensive care Tankrespiratoren are no longer used because the underlying disease usually associated with an increase in work of breathing, which can not be compensated.

Security measures

Each respirator the possibility of equipment failure is given, so that in a ventilated patients should be a resuscitator close to even in case of failure of the respirator to breathe can continue to edit the patient continuously. Furthermore, it must be ensured in a patient transfer with ventilator that existing supplies are sufficient in oxygen bottles and enable an uninterrupted ventilation. Electrically operated Notfallrespiratoren have a battery and an external charger Intensivrespiratoren often only a battery, which ensures the alarm in case of failure of the power grid. However, they are also offered with batteries for this case and for transporting patients to ensure the independent operation for a certain time.