Neonatal respirator allowing simultaneous ventilation and suction.

A new type of respirator for newborns allowing tracheal suction and ventilation simultaneously is presented. Additional characteristics are: a partly disposable air supply system, no apparatus deadspace and with one exception no moving parts. The performance of the respirator under varied conditions of lung mechanics was tested using a pneumatic lung thorax analogue. The procedure of tracheal suction was simulated and the effect on tidal volume and alveolar pressure investigated. Triggervolume and response time were also determined. Analysis shows that the respirator has qualities of flow- and pressure preset ventilators. Tracheal suction during ventilation does not impair the delivery of tidal volume. In mechanical ventilation with PEEP the alveolar pressure remains positive throughout the respiratory cycle despite suction.