When the Intensive Care Ventilator Technology Reaches the Operating Room: Advancing Ventilation in Anesthesia

Over the last two decades, the advances in ventilatormodalities and technology have revolutionized the mechanicalventilation process. The new anesthesia ventilatorsconstitute adaptations of machines previously used in intensivecare units. In this line, the FLOW-i anesthesia ventilator hasbeen recently developed based on the SERVO-i intensive careventilator platform. However, the FLOW-i behavior has notbeen so far tested in a leaking circuit.In this study we tested FLOW-i, and compared to SERVO-i,in volume-, pressure-, and pressure-regulated volumecontrolledmodes (VC, PC, and PRVC, respectively) withgas flows of 6, 1, and 0.3 L/min, booth in airtight and leakingcircuit.In the airtight system both ventilators behaved similarly.FLOW-i delivered preset tidal volume and maintained ventilationand circuit pressure at the same levels independently ofventilatory mode or fresh gas flow rate. In the face of a leakingcircuit and in PC mode FLOW-i and SERVO-i delivered to thelung model higher tidal volumes (about 90% and 85% of setvalues, respectively) than in VC and PRVC modes. Additionally,delivered tidal volume did not differ from 6 to 0.3 L/min offresh gas flow.