Intubation and mechanical ventilation are frequently
used in case of impaired gas exchange. High-frequency
percussive ventilation (HFPV) is a nonconventional ventilation
modality, which has been proven highly useful in the treatment
of several different pathological pulmonary conditions. The
pressure measured by the ventilator represents the sum of the
tracheal pressure and of the pressure dissipated by endotracheal
tube. Given that HFPV is not an intuitive ventilatory modality,
the possibility to know the real value of tracheal pressure will be
very helpful to optimize the treatment. This study compares two
different methods for the estimation of the tracheal pressure in
order to ascertain the applicability and limitations of these
approaches in the clinical practice. The two models are based on
fluid dynamics and on genetic programing. The simple former
model for estimation of tracheal pressure showed to be effective
and easily applied in everyday clinical practice.
