Noninvasive Ventilator Adapts to Patients' Needs

A new home ventilator designed for treating respiratory insufficiency caused by progressive neuromuscular disorders automatically adjusts bilevel positive airway pressure (BiPAP) to meet the patients' changing needs.

The Respironics' BiPAP AVAPS noninvasive home ventilator features average volume assured pressure support (AVAPS) technology, an algorithm that provides an average target tidal volume by automatically adapting pressure support to meet the patient's needs. The technology allows clinician to offer the comfort of pressure ventilation and the consistent clinical efficacy of delivering a target tidal volume in a compact, lightweight (1.7 kg) machine. The AVAPS ventilator offers a simple user interface and an integrated heated humidifier that allows for easier set-up and management. It also comes with built-in alarms and proprietary Encore smartcard technology. The AVAPS ventilator is a product of Respironics (Murrysville, PA, USA).

The AVAPS respirator utilizes proprietary digital Auto-Trak sensitivity, which estimates the patient's target tidal volume with each breath and compares it to the desired target tidal volume. If the patient is not achieving the target tidal volume, AVAPS recognizes the problem and gradually changes the inspiratory pressure so that the patient can achieve synchrony, guaranteeing a minimum level of ventilation and simplifying the titration process. Because the pressure increase is smooth, patient comfort and safety are not compromised. The AVAPS ventilator has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

"Patients deserve efficient and comfortable noninvasive ventilation, and we designed the BiPAP AVAPS ventilator specifically with that in mind,” said Elaine Lesnak, Respironics home respiratory care marketing manager in the United States. "AVAPS combines the comfort and leak compensation of a pressure mode with the safety of a guaranteed volume.”

BiPAP is a pressure generating method for increasing oxygenation and ventilation, usually used to treat people with sleep apnea. Patients wear a mask over their face when they sleep, and every time they exhale, pressurized air from this mask gently pushes its way into the mouth and re-inflates the lungs, effectively starting a new breath.


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