Patent ID: 7896814
Filing Date: 2011-03-01
Classification: A61B,A61M

Abstract:
1. A process for lung ventilation, comprising: providing a combination of an electric impedance tomography (EIT) system, a computing unit and a respirator; recording a first status image of healthy lungs with the EIT system; determining, with the computing unit, a total area and/or a spatial distribution of ventilated lung areas from image values; recording second or additional status images after assumed lung damage and after the total area and/or the spatial distribution of ventilated lung areas are determined; comparing, with the computing unit, the total areas and/or the spatial distribution of the ventilated lung areas from the first and second or further status images and analyzing for the presence of lung areas that have no or reduced ventilation due to atelectases; sending information on the presence, the extent and/or the spatial distribution of atelectases by the EIT system to the respirator; increasing the respiration pressure step by step, with the respirator, as a function of the status image or the currently determined status images until the current image of the lung status corresponds to the first status image or comes close to the first status image with minimal deviations; and reducing the respiration pressure step by step, with the respirator, until the computing unit detects a reduction of the ventilated lung areas and subsequently increasing the respiration pressure, with the respirator, to the last value at which no change occurred in the ventilated lung areas.