Algorithms for detecting endotracheal intubation and/or misplacement of endotracheal tubes in child patients during anesthesia for use with anesthesia machines, mechanical ventilators, and/or respiratory function monitors. An algorithm uses end-tidal carbon dioxide (EtCO.sub.2), and tidal volume (TV) or peak inspiratory pressure (PIP) to detect exact intubation time. Another algorithm uses respiratory parameters to identify and/or confirm the type of airway device used during mechanical ventilation, and to detect if and when an issue has arisen with use of a specific airway device to provide real-time decision support to attending medical care professionals.

System for assisting a patient in speaking, comprising at least one ventilation apparatus and a patient interface, the ventilation apparatus comprising at least one controllable respiratory gas source and being designed to identify two or more respiratory phases, at least inspiration and expiration, of the patient, and the patient interface having at least one speaking tube and a respiratory tube and being configured to conduct speaking gas to the patient via the speaking tube and to conduct respiratory gas to and/or from the patient via the respiratory tube. The system is configured to provide speaking gas to the patient at least temporarily in a speaking mode in order to enable speaking.

The disclosure provides methods that facilitate disease management by providing for early detection of metabolic changes that differentiate critically ill-COVID-19 patients under mechanical ventilation at the intensive care unit (ICU) who are likely to exhibit faster recovery.

A ventilation device comprising a controllable respiratory gas source and a programmable control unit being configured to perform the following: determining the respiratory gas flow, which is used to determine whether an inspiration or an expiration is present, regulating the pressure for an inspiration (IPAP) and an expiration (EPAP), wherein the control unit determines a typical expiration time over n breaths, the control unit lowers the pressure from the IPAP to the EPAP taking into account the typical expiration time in such a way that the pressure drop to the EPAP is already reached to the extent of at least 85% after a proportion of the typical expiration time in the range of 40-60% of the typical expiration time, the EPAP after completion of the pressure drop being predefined until the end of the typical expiration time.

A patient interface for supplying a flow of breathable gas to the airways of a patient may comprise a heat and moisture exchanger (HME). The HME may be positioned in a flow path of the flow of breathable gas. The HME may absorb heat and moisture from gas exhaled by the patient and the incoming flow of breathable gas to be supplied to the patient's airways may be heated and moisturized by the heat and moisture held in the HME.

The present invention provides for systems and methods for inhaled CO therapy to prevent, attenuate, or delay processes that accelerate the loss of organ or tissue function, thereby increasing the lifespan of transplanted organs or tissues, or slowing the decline of native organs or tissues, or delaying the need for replacement of diseased native organs with organ transplants. Such biological processes that are prevented, attenuated, or delayed include chronic persistent inflammation, fibrosis, scarring, as well as immunologic or autoimmune attack.

A mechanical ventilator (10) is connected with a ventilated patient (12) to provide ventilation in accordance with ventilator settings of the mechanical ventilator. Physiological values (variables) are acquired for the ventilated patient using physiological sensors (32). A ventilated patient cardiopulmonary (CP) model (40) is fitted to the acquired physiological variables values to generate a fitted ventilated patient CP model by fine-tuning its parameters (50). Updated ventilator settings are determined by adjusting model ventilator settings of the fitted ventilated patient CP model to minimize a cost function (60). The updated ventilator settings may be displayed on a display component (22) as recommended ventilator settings for the ventilated patient, or the ventilator settings of the mechanical ventilator may be automatically changed to the updated ventilator settings so as to automatically control the mechanical ventilator.

A medical ventilator (10) performs a method including: receiving measurements of pressure of air inspired by or expired from a ventilated patient (12) operatively connected with the medical ventilator; receiving measurements of air flow into or out of the ventilated patient operatively connected with the medical ventilator; dividing a breath time interval into a plurality of fitting regions (60); and simultaneously estimating respiratory system's resistance and compliance or elastance, and respiratory muscle pressure in each fitting region by fitting to a time series of pressure and air flow samples in that fitting region. In one approach, the fitting includes parameterizing the respiratory muscle pressure by a continuous differentiable function, such as a polynomial function, over the fitting region. In another approach, the fitting is to an equation of motion of the lungs in each fitting region, while monotonicity constraints and inequalities bounding at least the respiratory muscle pressure P.sub.mus(t) and respiratory system's resistence R and compliance C are applied to the respiratory muscle pressure in each region.

A humidifier for a respiratory apparatus for delivering a humidified flow of breathable gas to a patient includes a humidifier chamber configured to store a supply of water to humidify the flow of breathable gas. The humidifier chamber includes a first heating element configured to heat the supply of water. The humidifier also includes a relative humidity sensor to detect a relative humidity of ambient air and generate signals indicative of the ambient relative humidity; a first temperature sensor to detect a temperature of ambient air and generate signals indicative of the ambient temperature; and a controller configured to determine an absolute humidity of the ambient air from the signals generated by the relative humidity sensor and the first temperature sensor and to control the first heating element to provide a predetermined relative humidity to the flow of breathable gas. A method of humidifying a flow of breathable gas to be provided to a patient includes determining an absolute humidity of ambient air used to form the flow of breathable gas; and controlling a temperature of a supply of water that humidifies the flow of breathable gas to provide a predetermined absolute humidity corresponding to a predetermined temperature and a predetermined relative humidity of the flow to be delivered to the patient.

Disclosed is respiratory assistance apparatus comprising a flow generator configured to provide breathing gases to a patient, the breathing gases comprising supplemental oxygen provided from an oxygen source. The respiratory assistance apparatus controller is configured determine a target oxygen concentration of the breathing gases and calculate an estimated future value of the patient's blood oxygen concentration based on a difference between an initial oxygen concentration of the breathing gases and the target oxygen concentration of the breathing gases, and the patients blood oxygen concentration.