Patent ID: 8527036

Claim:
A control unit for a ventilator comprising: control unit inputs configured to receive at least a first bioelectric signal and a second bioelectric signal respectively from at least a first electrode pair and a second electrode pair on a catheter, each signal comprising an ECG component; and a programmable calculating unit configured to access stored programming instructions and to operate according to the accessed programming instructions to determine the ECG component of each of the at least two bioelectric signals and a programmable position determining unit that is also configured to access stored programming instructions and to operate according to the accessed programming instructions to determine the position of the catheter in relation to the patient's diaphragm based on a comparison of respective amplitudes of ECG components of the first and second bioelectric signals, and to make a signal available in electronic form at an output of said programmable position determining unit that indicates said position of the catheter in relation to the patient's diaphragm.