Ventilator Control Using Gas Curves to Detect Airway Opening Pressure
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing ventilation methods struggle to reliably detect lung collapse and airway obstruction during exhalation, leading to potential lung injuries and misjudgments in ventilation management.
Innovation Solution
A control unit for ventilators that performs ventilation maneuvers to open and close respiratory sections, using sensors to generate pressure-dependent curves from which opening and closing pressures are determined through characteristic inflection points in capnograms or oxigrams, allowing precise detection without complex calculations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional PEEP titration methods are used to determine opening and closing pressures, then ventilation management can be performed, but the process is time-consuming and requires multiple breaths
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical/time-based PEEP titration process with a computational analysis of pressure-dependent gas quantity curves. Instead of performing multiple manual ventilation adjustments over several breaths, the system uses sensors to generate measurement data and determines opening/closing pressures through curve evaluation, significantly reducing the time required while maintaining detection accuracy.
2Measurement precision
If pressure-based capnograms or oxigrams are used to determine opening and closing pressures, then accurate detection can be achieved, but complex probability-based calculation methods are required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the essential information needed for pressure determination directly from the pressure-dependent profile curves (capnograms or oxigrams). Instead of using complex probability-based calculations, the method identifies characteristic inflection points or specific curve sections that directly correlate with opening and closing pressures, simplifying the computational approach while maintaining high detection accuracy.
3Reliability
If elevated ventilation pressure is applied over a prolonged period to ensure lung opening, then lung recruitment can be achieved, but the risk of lung overexpansion increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism by continuously monitoring the pressure-dependent profile of respiratory gas quantity and using this information to dynamically adjust ventilation pressure. The system determines opening and closing pressures from curve evaluation and uses this feedback to optimize PEEP settings, ensuring adequate lung recruitment while preventing overexpansion by avoiding unnecessarily elevated pressures.
Data Source
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AI summary
A ventilator (1) comprises: an air port (3) to which a patient's respiratory apparatus (15) is connected, enabling ventilation of the patient with air; an actuator (5) for supplying an airflow (7) at the air port (3); and a sensor (9) for generating measurement data (11) relating to the ventilation. A control unit (13) for the ventilator (1) is configured to perform the following procedure (M): generating a control signal (25) to control the actuator (5) so that a ventilation maneuver is carried out in which at least one section (17, 19) of the respiratory apparatus (15) is opened during an inhalation phase and/or closed during an exhalation phase; Receiving the measurement data (11), wherein the measurement data (11) indicate a pressure-dependent course of a quantity of at least one respiratory gas inhaled by the patient during the inhalation phase and/or exhaled during the exhalation phase, depending on the pressure of the breathing air;Determining an opening pressure corresponding to a pressure of the breathing air at which at least one section (17, 19) of the respiratory apparatus (15) is opened, by evaluating a section of the pressure-dependent curve related to the inhalation phase, and/or determining a closing pressure corresponding to a pressure of the breathing air at which at least one section (17, 19) of the respiratory apparatus (15) is closed, by evaluating a section of the pressure-dependent curve related to the exhalation phase.