Final Development and Testing of Patient Breath Simulator/Capnometer Test Device

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Healthcare providers increasingly employ respiratory gas monitors, such as capnometers and anesthesia monitors, to ensure respiratory health during critical care procedures like sedation, mechanical ventilation and CPR. A malfunctioning gas monitor, which can be difficult to detect using traditional static test methods, can lead to serious injury or death. A novel test device (known as the SmartTank) has been developed that can simulate patient CO2 levels under various conditions including mechanical ventilation. The device properly simulates patient breathing under various pressure conditions and can properly identify leaks within capnometers. Test sequences for specific devices can be picked from the internal database. The user can perform the test and the SmartTank collects the required information and generates a report the user can then retrieve. While the system functions as intended, additional technical assistance and late stage development are required to reach commercialization. Remaining development tasks include redesigning the flow meter to solve a technical issue and modify a core part of the firmware to allow for user customizable test routines. Once these tasks are complete, technical assistance is needed to complete electrical safety and EMC testing before onsite Beta testing can be conducted at ten different hospitals. Completion of the proposed specific aims will result in the final design of a portable, standalone SmartTank device that meets user expectations and is ready for the market. This device will provide new advanced tests for capnometers capable of detecting all critical fault conditions leading to increased patient safety and reduced hospital and provider risk. Additionally, clinical engineers will save time and money as total time to setup, conduct and document a test is reduced by customizable automation.PROJECT NARRATIVE A malfunctioning gas monitor (capnometer), which can be difficult to detect using traditional static test methods, can lead to serious injury or death. A novel test device has been developed that can simulate patient CO2 levels under various conditions including mechanical ventilation and works well. Additional technical assistance and late stage development are required to finalize the design and reach commercialization.