Category
Respiratory Support
Typical Use
Provide controlled respiratory support in respiratory failure.
Description
A complex machine that delivers controlled volumes or pressures of gas and oxygen to support or replace spontaneous breathing in patients with respiratory failure, during anesthesia, or in critical care. Ventilators offer multiple modes (volume control, pressure control, spontaneous modes) and alarms to tailor support to patient physiology while minimizing ventilator induced lung injury through lung protective strategies. Management requires monitoring of oxygenation, ventilation, airway pressures, and patient ventilator synchrony, and often involves sedation, secretion management, and weaning protocols. Proper setup, infection control, and staff expertise are critical to safe ventilator use and to reduce complications such as barotrauma, ventilator associated pneumonia, and hemodynamic effects.