

Single limb ventilatorĬircuits with a patient valve located distally already exist on the market, butĪre not necessarily optimized for use with a manual resuscitator. So that gases can be recaptured by the ventilator. Ventilator circuits have two limbs, one for inspiration and one for expiration, To move the patient valve of the manual resuscitator closer to the patient is Extending the tubing through which bidirectional flow of inhaled/exhaled gas mixture occurs only increases dead space. Considering gas exchange occurs at the alveoli in our lungs, every anatomical structure above it can be considered “dead space”: nasal/oral passages, pharynx, larynx, trachea, and primary / secondary / tertiary bronchi. Our natural anatomy has dead space as well. Note: In a 1 m long tube of nominal 2 cm diameter, there is an unacceptable 314 mL dead space that the patient will breath in and out and not be oxygenated.ĭead space simply means volume in the respiratory circuit that does not participate in gas exchange in the lungs. If a simple tube is used to do so, it creates a critical safety concern of “ dead space.” Therefore, a safe method to extend the “reach” and flexibility of the manual resuscitator to a patient lying on a hospital bed is needed.
DEAD SPACE 2 DIFFICULTY DIFFERENCES HOW TO
Even when patients are paralyzed, the paralytic may wear off at times and we must consider how to keep the patient safe from inadvertent breathing circuit disconnection or extubation. In addition, patients need to be turned intermittently for routine care and patients can thrash and move in their beds. When a manual resuscitator is placed into an MIT Emergency Ventilator, or similar design, the system cannot be placed right up against the patient’s head. A fundamental challenge is the location of the one way and expiratory valves, which are typically directly integrated into the bag. Care must be taken to prevent rebreathing of CO 2 due to long hoses.

This is a fault condition that should be detected by pressure sensing.

Some considerations regarding how the patient should be connected to a manual resuscitator-based ventilator include:
