A respiratory gas exchange simulator for routine calibration in metabolic studies.

We have developed a method for simulating respiratory gas exchange for on-line calibration of metabolic measurement systems. It utilizes a pump which intakes a mixture of atmospheric air and a known flow of precision-analysed calibration gas (21% CO2, 79% N2). It expels the resulting mixture with flow wave form and profiles of gas concentration which closely resemble those of normal expiration. Control of the calibration mixture's inflow allows the investigator to set any desired metabolic rate regardless of the minute ventilatory rate. This separation of metabolic from ventilatory rates provides a stringent test of the computational performance of the respiratory gas exchange measurement systems. The apparatus can reproduce any range of respiratory and metabolic performance (currently ranging from 0.2-5 l.min-1 O2 uptake and CO2 output) with accuracy +/- 2%.