Wednesday, September 08, 2010

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Respiratory Measurements

At regular health care units, a few personnel are responsible for many patients and the number of monitors is low. The step between intensive care units and health care units is big. When there is an acute illness (Airway, Breathing, Circulation) or when an advanced analgesic treatment is needed it is very important, and usually hard, to form an opinion of the patient's breathing. In ambulances and at regular health care units the breathing function of the patient is valued manually, visually and/or with pulse oxymetry. Pulse oxymetry has the disadvantage that it does not work on patients with reduced peripheral circulation and extra oxygen can disguise a reduced breathing function.

To objectively measure the breathing function has, until today, because of the expense, only been possible at intensive care units and made with capnometry (CO₂ in the exhalation air) possibly combined with blood gases. For the majority of the spontaneously breathing patients, the value of CO₂ at the end of the exhalation (EtCO₂) is equivalent to the content of CO₂ in the artery blood. When the patient is breathing spontaneously you can get a good notation of the breathing capacity and the breath's quality by measuring EtCO₂.

Most pharmaceuticals given for advanced pain alleviation have a negative effect on breathing. This means that for an adequate alleviation of a more severe state of pain you simultaneously need to monitor the breathing. In spite of the fact that it is medically possible today to have an operation without any postoperative pain, it is common that the patients cannot be offered complete alleviation because of insufficient monitoring possibilities. The instruments for breathing monitoring with capnometry on the market today are developed for surgery and intensive care. The instruments are expensive and the size makes them useful only for stationary usage. The clinical need of an instrument, that in a safe way can monitor the patient at regular health care units, is accordingly pronounced.

In ambulance health care there is also a great interest in being able to measure EtCO₂. Apart from being a measurement of the breathing quality for breathing affected patients, EtCO₂ is a measurement of the circulation through the lungs when a cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is taking place.

MedAir AB has developed a patient monitor worth its price, LifeSense, which combines pulse oxymetry and capnometry. In LifeSense^TM the latest technology and the cost-efficient CO₂ sensor from SenseAir is being used to be able to manufacture a monitor for regular health care units and ambulance transports an attractive price! With LifeSense the modern pain alleviation can be used to a larger extent and in more areas.

For general information regarding Capnography check this site: www.capnography.com