Ventilator And Its Various Modes For The Beginners

A ventilator is a machine that helps you breathe or so to say, it breathes for you. It does this, through a breathing circuit (a combination of inhalation and exhalation tubing). One end of the inhalation tube is connected to the device (ventilator) and the other end to the patient’s airways, down up to the lungs, inserted through a process called intubation. From the lungs, the circuit draws exhaled CO2 and other waste gases and brings it back to the ventilator vide exhalation tube. It is then filtered (HEPA) and let out. The latest international regulation guideline requires this exhaust from the ventilator to be further sucked into a central pipeline, again filtered and let out.

On inspiration, we have gas coming from the ventilator at a positive pressure. This is drawn into a HME (Heat and Moisture Exchanger). Here it humidifies and warms the air, prior to entering the patient’s lungs. This step is required because we are bypassing the patient’s upper airways, where normally these functions are carried out.

How are we bypassing? We normally use an Endo-tracheal tube (ET tube) to reach the patient’s lungs, in invasive ventilation. Invasive ventilation is tried only if, noninvasive methods don’t…