Essential Checklist: Choosing the Ideal Ventilator

Patient Age and Condition

What patient group does the ventilator need to cater to? (Adults, Paediatric, Neonates)

What is the minimum tidal volume under consideration the machine has in volume modes?

Adaptability

Is the minimum tidal volume suitable for Neonatal and Paediatric patients? (5 ml or lower for neonatal and 20 ml or lower for pediatric)

Does the machine provide visual/graphic assistance for medical conditions?

Is there a tool to adapt to patient’s changing conditions automatically?

Functionality and Features

Can the machine assist in providing customized settings according to patient type and medical conditions?

Does the machine save setting pre-set for different medical conditions?

Does the machine have a Non-invasive ventilation feature?

What is the maximum leakage compensation machine can provide?

Critical Failure and Safety

Does the machine have a facility to provide High Flow Oxygen therapy?

Does the machine have Non-invasive and neonatal-specific modes?

Does the machine emit audio/visual alarms on power failure or a change of power source? Does it indicate the current power source?

Responsiveness and Monitoring

Does the machine have a safety valve or alternative for patients during critical failure?

Can the upper-pressure limit be set, and is it cut off/released by a safety valve?

How fast does the machine respond to changes in any event?

Sterilisation and Maintenance

Does it respond to patient monitoring events like high/low pressure? How fast?

Does the machine identify various monitoring events and patient disconnection in different levels of criticality?

Are all parts of the machine in contact with the patient’s breath removable and sterilizable?

Preoperational Checks

What are the suggested protocols for sterilization, including frequency? Is there a mechanism to verify proper sterilization?

Are there disposable parts that need to be discarded after every patient?

Does the machine have an automatic pre-operational check system?

Alarm limits and management

Does the process involve manual maneuvers?

In case of a complete automatic test, does the machine have a short test for emergencies?

Can the machine adjust alarm limits, and are they patient-type-specific?

Automatic Parameters Adjustment

Does the machine propose or change alarm limits based on patient settings?

Is there an alarm limit auto-adjustment button?

Does the machine have different settable ranges for different patient types? (Adult, Paediatric and Neonatal)

Do the parameters have dynamic safety ranges according to the entered IBW of the patient?

Core technology

Does the selectable range depend upon another interdependent parameter like rate and Inspiratory time are interdependent on each other?

Does the selectable range have any automatic changes or adaptability according to set alarm limits?

What technology does the ventilator employ, and how does it affect noise levels and precision?

Does the machine require an additional air supply or a compressor?

Can the machine function entirely on battery backup?

Technical Specification

does the machine support the intrahospital transfer of patients?

What is the lifetime and warranty on the Blower?

Tidal volume range

Pressure Range

Respiratory Range

Leakage compensation

Maximum achievable flow

Alarms

User Interface

Screen Size

Resolution

Touch or non-Touch

Gesture control for easy manoeuvrability

Data Storage

Does the machine have configurable screens, parameters, and other elements, or it is fixed?

Is the machine configurable for a suitable screen layout?

Does the machine store patient monitoring data?

Does it also store the events and other important things like changes in settings?

Modes

What is the storage capacity?

Can this data be exported in an easy way?

Does the machine have only basic modes or advanced modes like Volume guarantee pressure modes, Inverse ratio ventilation, etc?

Clinical Tools

Does the machine have any auto ventilation mode?

Does the machine support oxygen therapy and Non-invasive ventilation modes?

Does the machine have inbuilt Spirometry?

Does the machine measure crucial parameters like Intrinsic PEEP, Compliance, and Resistance of the patient?

Does the machine have a tool to help in Weaning?

Lifetime cost and maintenance

Does the machine have a tool to assist the doctor in deciding the optimum PEEP level?

Does the machine have any graphics representing the lung activity and parameters in real-time to understand the patient’s condition at a glance?

What is the Lifetime cost of the machine?

Warranty

Does it cover all the accessories required to maintain the sterilization protocol?

What is the overall Lifetime cost of the machine?

What is the standard warranty provided with the machine?

Are there any parts of the machine not covered by this warranty?

Maintenance Cost

Can the warranty be extended? If yes what is the cost?

Can the extended warranty be extended later?

Are any special tools/procedures/cleansers required for regular hospital maintenance?

Budgetary constraints

Are there special tools required for periodic maintenance?

Does the hospital need to buy any consumables during periodic maintenance?

What is the guaranteed lifetime expectancy provided by the manufacturer?

Service Support

How old is the model?

How long the model will not be obsolete? Will that be more than the lifetime expectancy of the machine?

What is the service response time?

Is there a centralized service request or customer care system?

Is there a way to prevent unauthorized access to service options by the manufacturer?

Training and Application Support

What is the qualification and training of the service engineers?

Is there a training and certification program for the in-house hospital team for maintenance?

Does the company have an application engineer for training?

Does the company have any online training modules and certification courses?

Regulatory Compliance

Does the company provide any simulator for training purposes?

Does the machine have any assistance available to understand the functionalities?

Upgradability

Does the machine have all relevant certifications from regulatory authorities to sell the product?