For the new ventilation method, a breathing mask is used instead of the well-known tube in the throat, the trachea cannula. An additional advantage – in this case – is that a relatively large amount of air ‘leaks out’ during ventilation via a mask. This ‘leakage’ can be conducted into the patient’s throat, along the vocal cords. As a result, with the necessary training, the patient can talk during the ventilator.
“If we then make a leak of air along the vocal cords, people can speak with their own voice again. But ventilating with that leakage is very difficult,” says intensivist Peter Egbers in the report of Omroep Fryslan.
Talking while breathing
The Frisian invention is currently being tested in full. A simulator is used for this. In addition, the method is already being used in practice. The first results are positive and there is already interest from other hospitals. The MCL aims to become the center of expertise for this innovative invention.
When patients who need to be on a ventilator can talk, there are of course many advantages when they can communicate with their doctor or nurse. “People can express themselves and tell what’s on their minds. If you realize that people can’t even move their hands, it’s very nice for the patient and for us too that we understand each other,” says IC nurse Ingrid Bakker.
New techniques
Partly due to the corona pandemic, a lot of attention is being paid to new ventilation techniques. For example, TU/e students have developed breathing equipment based on AI algorithms. This makes the regulation of the air pressure of respiratory equipment, or mechanical ventilators, more accurate up to a factor of ten.
Most corona-driven developments in recent years have focused on the faster production of respirators. The invention of the MCL is mainly aimed at improving communication with patients who are being ventilated.
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