With the use of laryngeal mask airways (LMAs) on the rise and growing clinical interest in supporting spontaneous breathing for ventilated patients, GE Healthcare responded with innovative modes of anesthesia ventilation to meet these needs. Now available as options for the Aestiva®/5 and Aestiva/5 MRI anesthesia systems with 7900 SmartVent™, SIMV and PSVPro™ modes expand the capabilities of the system and help simplify the care for a broad range of spontaneously breathing patients.

SIMV, or Synchronized Intermittent Mandatory Ventilation, provides a set number of ventilator-delivered breaths per minute, allowing the patient to breathe spontaneously between the mandatory breaths. SIMV is helpful when the patient's rate and tidal volume change due to the depth of anesthesia, the patient's needs change during surgery, IV agents are given or the patient is adjusting to different phases of anesthesia.

PSVPro, or Pressure-Supported Ventilation, is designed to complement SIMV by assisting the patient's spontaneous breaths. With PSVPro, the ventilator delivers a set pressure when the patient takes a breath. The patient, who must take a breath for the ventilator to provide support, controls the rate, volume and timing of the breath. The Apnea Backup Mode is designed to protect patients by ensuring a minimum ventilatory status. PSVPro supports the use of LMAs, assists in decreasing the work of breathing, helps overcome the resistance of the breathing circuit. In addition, flow triggering supports the synchronization of breaths, decreasing patients' tendency to fight the ventilator, and the trigger window allows fine-tuning of the SIMV breaths to the patient's breathing pattern. The decelerating flow feature optimizes the inspiratory flow to help ensure the best volume at the lowest pressure.