MV-Optimizer. Technology to electronically manage mechanical ventilation

Leidy Yanet Serna

Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), Spain

Mechanical ventilation (MV) is a therapy that supports a patient's breathing when they cannot do it by themselves. It is estimated that 8 % of patients with COVID-19 require MV, which has overwhelmed health systems due to the lack of staff specialized in respiratory therapy.

Setting the correct ventilation mode is a complex but often critical process for patient recovery. However, doctors tend to use basic settings that do not always fit each patient’s needs.

The researchers behind this project have developed MV-Optimizer (MV-O), a technology that simulates the patient's response to different ventilator settings and will help healthcare practitioners determine the best ventilatory therapy for each patient. MV-O is expected to reduce the length of hospital stay by 5%, which will considerably lessen healthcare costs and occupancy in intensive care units.