Intelligent Volume-Assured Pressure Support

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Definition - What does Intelligent Volume-Assured Pressure Support mean?

Intelligent volume-assured pressure support (iVAP) is a therapeutic modality designed to promote artificial ventilation at a proportionate rate that coincides with tidal volume, or lung capacity, for air between breathing cycles to maximize the quality of sleep patterns. Clinical data supports the efficacy of iVAP treatment provided its seamless conformity to the patient’s physiological needs by sustaining autonomous respiration throughout the night.

SureHire explains Intelligent Volume-Assured Pressure Support

Individuals transition from non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep to rapid eye movement (REM) sleep causing fluctuations in the respiratory rate to occur during sleep stage cycles. Sleep clinicians use target alveolar ventilation as the benchmark for establishing healthy sleep patterns against actual alveolar ventilation where deviations can skew below the cutoff threshold resulting in breathing difficulties. Consequently, iVAP ventilators feature manual or automatic display options to input physiological variables including patient height, respiratory rate, minute ventilation, and tidal volume, modulating the pressure support against breathing abnormalities.

Intelligent backup rate (iBR) is an ancillary component of iVAP ventilators, providing a reserve supply of breaths that compensate for a deficiency of air intake if spontaneous breathing is compromised. The iVAP therapy is a viable treatment solution for patients suffering from a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), compounded by the epiphenomenon of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) where the structural integrity of lung tissue impedes the respiratory cycle. COPD relates to distinct pathological conditions including chronic asthma, bronchitis, and emphysema, influencing the magnitude of the general public becoming susceptible to concomitant sleep disorders.

In the workplace, exposure to particulate matter (PM) including residual dust, chemical fumes, and toxic vapors, can predispose employees to develop a COPD condition, exacerbating health risks against industrial environments where contaminants are often prevalent. With medical research studies drawing correlative analysis between occupational hazards and COPD, health and safety initiatives to limit or prevent exposure to potential biohazards can offset the morbidity rate, especially among an older demographic. Furthermore, iVAP ventilators are a conducive measure in tempering the comorbid implications between COPD and sleep disorders which, according to the American Thoracic Society, affect a significant percentage of the population.

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