Patent ID: 8550077

Claim:
A method for controlling a mechanical ventilator to provide mid-frequency mandatory ventilation to a patient comprising: providing ventilation to a patient according to a mid-frequency ventilation pattern; monitoring an alveolar ventilation of the patient; iteratively repeating the following steps until a decrease in the alveolar ventilation is recorded after an incremental increase in a respiratory cycle frequency; (a) incrementally decreasing a tidal volume of the mid-frequency ventilation pattern when the alveolar ventilation is above a target range; (b) incrementally increasing the respiratory cycle frequency when the alveolar ventilation is not above the target range; selecting a tidal volume and a respiratory cycle frequency from an iteration immediately prior to the recorded decrease in the alveolar ventilation; and updating the mid-frequency ventilation pattern of the mechanical ventilator to include the selected respiratory cycle frequency and tidal volume.