What is a Ventilator Machine?

A ventilator is a medical equipment used in hospitals or ambulances to save people's lives in emergencies. It helps patients in the process of breathing by pumping air into the lungs. It also helps to release carbon- dioxide, a harmful waste gas that your body needs to take out. 

A ventilator is also known as a breathing machine, respiratory, and mechanical ventilation. Doctors suggest ventilators when a person cannot breathe correctly on their own.

Why does a patient need ventilator? 

A patient needs a ventilator - when oxygen levels drop down, shortness of breath, sickness, infection, injury, or surgery - these are the conditions when doctors recommend a ventilator machine. The ventilator pushes the air into the lungs, and after the time being, it puts the lung into a normal situation while breathing. But, in the worst conditions, the ventilator machine is required for a long period. 

In some cases, the ventilator is required during surgery or after surgery because the patient cannot breathe adequately independently as of the anaesthesia dose or for other reasons like situation blood pressure or heart rate drops. 

What Is the Use Of Ventilators?

When the human body usually works by inhaling and exhaling oxygen necessary for the body to survive and expel carbon dioxide. But sometimes, critical conditions like Covid can inflame your airways and drown your lungs in fluids. At that time, the ventilator mechanically helps to flow the oxygen in the body.

One machine is present in the patient mouth, which helps to flow air through the tube and down your windpipe. Moreover, the machine will breathe out for you, or you may do it independently. However, the ventilator is set to take a specific number of breaths per minute. The doctor also decides to program a ventilator to start when the patient needs help. In that scenario, the ventilator will blow air into the lungs if the patient will not breathe in a set amount of time.

What Is the Difference Between Oxygen and Ventilator?

1. An oxygen machine provides oxygen to the patient without any pressure but inhaled with personal effort. But the ventilator machine, at its full force, passes the air into the patient's lungs.

1. An oxygen concentrator does not help in the respiration process but only provides a higher concentration of oxygen, i.e., more than the standard 21% present in the atmospheric air. While on the other hand, the ventilator machine helps in the respiration process and enables patients to breathe to rest until the body heals.

1. Oxygen concentrator monitors the oxygen saturation, which can be checked easily through an oximeter device. But when a patient is on a ventilator, it monitors various things, including oxygen, pulse, heart rate, ABGs (arterial blood gases), monitor pulse settings according to patient situation, suctioning of the airway pain management, and patient nutritional requirement, etc. 

1. Oxygen concentrators are portable you can carry them easily wherever you want, but the ventilator requires proper setup or installation. 

1. The oxygen concentrator does not require constant professional oversight, but it can last for about 5 to 7 years with reasonable care. But with easy maintenance, clean the air filters that increase life span and avoid dirt from the device. However, a ventilator requires an expert doctor to operate it and proper maintenance. 

What are The Best Ventilators?

Various types of ventilators are available in the market, and it used as per the patients' condition but only in the presence of doctors.

1. Manual Resuscitator Bags

It is the part of the equipment that enables patients to control the airflow of the ventilator with their hands. The equipment carries an empty bag or bladder that a person squeezes to pump air into the lungs. The patient can connect this device with its face mask ventilator, or if they have been intubated, a doctor can connect one to the tube in their throat. 

If patients want to stop using mechanical ventilators, this works as a temporary solution.

2. Face Mask Ventilator

This ventilator is a non-invasive method to support patient breathing and oxygen levels. To use a face mask ventilator, the patient must wear a mask that fits over the nose and mouth, and the air passes into the airways and lungs. It has been widely used for COVID patients because they have severe breathing issues that drop their oxygen levels. 

3. Mechanical Ventilator

These machines take over the whole breathing process entirely. The doctors will use this when the patient can't breathe independently. The device contains a tube that is to be inserted into a person's throat that pumps air into the lungs and exhales carbon dioxide away. 

According to the doctors' instructions, the respiratory therapists sets the pressure, volume, humidity, and air temperature on the machine as per the patients' condition. Moreover, it enables the doctor to control a person's breathing and oxygen levels. 

4. Tracheostomy Ventilator

Those people who have undergone tracheostomy will need a ventilator. The doctor will open the windpipe in a tracheostomy and insert a tube that enables airflow in and out. This ventilator allows the person to breathe without using the mouth or nose. Sometimes, people also require tracheostomies if they require mechanical ventilation for an extended period and need extra time for rehabilitation. 

What Is The Price Of Ventilators?

Various ventilator options are available to care for multiple patient needs. The examples are:

• Home care ventilators,
• High-frequency ventilators,
• Low, medium, and high-acuity ventilators,
• Transport ventilators,
• Non-invasive positive pressure ventilation,

Different ventilators comprise different gas delivery designs, including turbine-based air supply and proportional solenoid (PSOL) valve control. These ventilator machines cost around four to five lakhs may, depend on the device. 

Final Thoughts

Ventilator machines enable the functioning of the lungs regularly. It helps patients fix breathing problems and allows them to recover from illness and health conditions. Ventilators are considered life-saving medical instruments and an important tool that works for all groups of people - adults, children, and toddlers.