The VentilO application is a mobile educational application that allows healthcare professionals in charge of patients with mechanical ventilation:
(i) to learn how to set the initial ventilatory settings in volume-controlled ventilation mode based on several parameters,
(ii) to reason about the influence of different parameters on ventilatory needs in adult patients,
(iii) to learn about the impact of dead space on ventilation efficiency.
The initial settings for minute ventilation (tidal volume (VT) and respiratory rate (RR)) will be proposed. The VT will be determined according to the predicted body weight, the body temperature and the type of patient (medical or surgical). VT/RR combinations for different targets of VT (3 to 10 mL / kg PBW will be provided, settings from 6 to 8 mL/kg PBW will be preferred). Educational texts are proposed to help other settings (PEEP and FiO2) in the different care contexts.
Optimizing protective ventilation settings is covered in another separate tab. Minute ventilation and alveolar ventilation (minute ventilation - dead space ventilation) are calculated. The physiological dead space is calculated according to published formulas linked to the predicted body weight of the patients, the instrumental dead space (linked to the volumes of the endotracheal tubes, connections, heat and moisture exchangers) is calculated. The impact of reducing dead space on several parameters is calculated:
- The gain in alveolar ventilation is calculated according to the dead space reduction (efficiency gain to reduce PaCO2)
- If one wishes to keep the PaCO2 constant after reduction of the instrumental dead space, it is possible to calculate the possible reduction in tidal volume (and the impact on the alveolar pressures: plateau pressure and driving pressure) or the reduction in respiratory rate.
In addition to the measurements of these different parameters, several educational texts are accessible in the application to understand what dead space is during mechanical ventilation, what is instrumental dead space, what is the impact of dead space in function of ventilation settings and possible gains.
These calculations and descriptions concern ventilated adult patients, in the emergency room, intensive care units and in the operating room. The VentilO application was developed with the help of several mechanical ventilation experts.
The mobile application is bilingual (English and French) and will adapt to the language settings of
your device. The app is available in English (default) and French (when the phone is in French).
