General Electric Company
VENTILATION CONTROL SYSTEM AND METHOD UTILIZING PATIENT OXYGEN SATURATION

Abstract:

A patient ventilation system includes a ventilator configured to deliver ventilation gas to patient, a CO.sub.2 concentration sensor configured to provide EtCO.sub.2 measurements for the patient, and an SpO.sub.2 monitor configured to determine an SpO.sub.2 value for the patient. A ventilation control module is executable on a processor and configured to compare the SpO.sub.2 value to a threshold SpO.sub.2 and determine from this comparison that the SpO.sub.2 value indicates inadequate oxygenation. A minimum ventilation amount is then set, and the ventilator is then controlled based on the EtCO.sub.2 measurements and the minimum ventilation amount so as to deliver at the least the minimum ventilation amount to the patient while the SpO.sub.2 value indicates inadequate oxygenation.