Ventilator

Definition
According to the Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA); A continuous ventilator (respirator) is a device intended to mechanically control or assist patient breathing by delivering a predetermined percentage of oxygen in the breathing gas. There are a variety of mechanical ventilators available. See Lesson 8 for more details.

There are a variety of types of ventilators. They are classified in a number of ways:

How a breath is delivered

Positive pressure : push higher than atmospheric air into the lungs. Positive pressure ventilators consist of a compressible air reservoir that pushes air through a set of tubes and valves (patient circuit) to the patient.     Negative pressure : The iron lung was a negative pressure ventilator. It applied pressure around the chest that is lower than atmospheric pressure and helps to pull air into the lungs.

Setting of ventilator use

Hospital or critical care : sophisticated computerized devices able to provide multiple modes of ventilation, patient monitoring and central alarms Transport devices : designed to be portable and withstand excessive shock or vibration that can occur in rescue vehicles Home or portable ventilator : do not have all of the specialized features of the hospital ventilators. They are smaller and lighter to allow for portability.

Ventilators may be used in acute situations such as during surgery or in the critical care setting to support breathing. They may also be used chronically outside the hospital to manage chronic respiratory failure. They can be used throughout the lifespan.