Ventilator Abdominal Sensor for Reliable Respiratory Phase Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional ventilators face challenges in accurately distinguishing between inspiration and expiration modes, especially in non-invasive ventilation of newborns and premature babies, due to high leakage flows and non-linear relationships between abdominal movement signals and respiratory flow signals, leading to unreliable control and additional effort in leak correction.
Innovation Solution
The ventilator integrates flow sensors with differential pressure sensors and an abdominal movement signal to calculate respiratory flow, using software to equalize sensor characteristics and compensate for signal weaknesses, allowing for reliable transition detection between inspiration and expiration modes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If non-invasive ventilation with nasal cannulas is used, then patient comfort is improved, but leakage flows increase causing unreliable detection of inspiration and expiration transitions
Solution Approach 1:
An abdominal movement sensor is introduced as an intermediary device to detect respiratory phase transitions. The sensor measures abdominal motion which serves as a reliable indicator of inspiration and expiration phases, bypassing the problem of leakage flows that corrupt traditional flow sensor measurements in non-invasive ventilation setups.
2Measurement precision
If flow sensors are used to measure respiratory flow, then ventilation control is improved, but leakage flows cause non-linear relationships between abdominal movement and respiratory flow signals
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the reliable signal component (abdominal movement) from the corrupted signal (respiratory flow measurement affected by leaks). By focusing on abdominal motion as the primary indicator of respiratory phase transitions, the system eliminates the need to process the non-linear relationship between flow and abdominal movement caused by leakage flows.
3Measurement precision
If leak correction methods are implemented, then ventilation accuracy is improved, but additional measurement effort and complexity are required
Solution Approach 1:
The abdominal movement sensor provides self-service by directly indicating respiratory phase transitions without requiring complex leak correction algorithms. The sensor's output naturally correlates with inspiration and expiration phases, eliminating the need for additional measurement efforts and complex signal processing to compensate for leakage flows.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach enables reliable recognition of transitions between inspiration and expiration, even with changing leaks, improving ventilation control and reducing the effort required for leak correction, while minimizing material attachment to the patient interface.
Implementation Method 1
The sensor element (60) has a sensor part (601) which is applied directly to the skin on the side of the patient's abdomen (belly) using medical adhesive tape
Implementation Method 2
A flow sensor (21) with a flow resistance element (22) is provided in the exhalation hose (51)
Data Source
Figure 1~2
AI summary
The invention relates to a ventilator (1) with a connection (43) for an inhalation tube (41), a connection (53) for an exhalation tube (51), a sensor connection for connecting a sensor line (14, 24), and an abdominal connection (65). A respiratory signal is obtained from the respiratory flow of a patient or a test setup. Both the abdominal movement signal and the respiratory signal are taken into account when controlling the ventilation. The invention further relates to a corresponding control and testing method for a ventilator.