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tee of 600 ml of volume, the ventilator can determine the safest way to hit both
of the those targets while limiting excessive breaths. In turn, this allows for a
safer, more even and reliable distribution of gas throughout the patient's lungs.
Ventilation has gone through other changes as well. Instead of a pneumatic
bellows system (think of an accordion), some machines now use a finely tuned
piston that cuts medical gas use. An even more recent update has transformed
that large piston into a quarter-sized turbine that spins ultra-rapidly to push gas
into the lung. Additionally, modern machines also come with many support
modes to accommodate older, sicker and heavier patients, or patients who are
breathing on their own.
OSM
Dr. Olympio (molympio@wakehealth.edu) is an anesthesiol-
ogist at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center and a professor of
anesthesiology at Wake Forest School of Medicine.
