Ventilator performances for non-invasive ventilation: a bench study

A wide range of recent ventilators, dedicated or not, is available for non-invasive ventilation (NIV) in respiratory or intensive care units (ICU). We conducted a bench study to compare their technical performances. Ventilators, including five ICU ventilators with NIV mode on, two dedicated NIV ventilators and one transport ventilator, were evaluated on a test bench for NIV, consisting of a 3D manikin head connected to an ASL 5000 lung model via a non-vented mask. Ventilators were tested according to three simulated lung profiles (normal, obstructive, restrictive), three levels of simulated air leakage (0, 15, 30 L/min), two levels of pressure support (8, 14 cmH O) and two respiratory rates (15, 25 cycles/min). The global median Asynchrony Index (AI) was higher with ICU ventilators than with dedicated NIV ventilators (4% (0; 76) vs 0% (0; 15), respectively; p