October 2000, Cincinnati, OH -- VentWorld recently attended the forty-sixth International Respiratory Congress hosted by the AARC and held this year in Cincinnati, Ohio, Oct. 7-10. One hundred ninety-five exhibitors had booths in the exhibit hall, and a small sampling of the latest innovative products in mechanical ventilation and respiratory care are described below. Click on the company names listed here to read about what they demonstrated at the exposition. Also, you can click here to check out a review of the educational offerings and other events at the Congress, submitted to VentWorld by William French, MA, RRT.

And now, on with the show!

(Note: clicking on the thumbnail images will retrieve larger pictures.)

Caradyne

The Caradyne WhisperFlow™ 2-60 is an integrated CPAP system for non-invasive treatment solution in a variety of respiratory conditions, combining the efficiency of a variable high flow generator with pressure monitoring and oxygen concentration monitoring. Its flow rates of 0-140 L/min and minimum 02 concentration of 28% are more flexibile than traditional higher-flow options. The compact unit can be pole- or bench-mounted, and has a swivel-elbow inlet port for easy assembly and reduced circuit stress, an internal filter compartment, and a rechargeable battery for intra-hospital transport. Contact Caradyne by phone at 1 317 246 9010 (USA) or +353 (0) 91 709010 (Ireland) or on the internet at www.caradyne.com.

Datex-Ohmeda

Datex-Ohmeda featured its new S/5 Critical Care Monitor and S/5 Compact Critical Care Monitor. These monitors uniquely provide multi-system cardiac, hemodynamic, respiratory, metabolic, neuromuscular, EEG, and Tonometry monitoring. The "System 5" product family comprehensively covers Critical Care, Anesthesia, Post Anesthesia, Emergency Care, and Transport applications. Contact Datex-Ohmeda by phone at 1 800 345 2700 or on the internet at www.datex-ohmeda.com.

Pictured: Greg Conley, Marketing Manager, Critical Care & Emergency Care

Dräger Medical, Inc.

Dräger offered a preview of the Savina, its new sub-acute care ventilator. (FDA 510(k) approval is pending for sale of Savina in USA.) With its integrated gas source, Savina meets the needs of high performance transport as well as intensive care, recovery and sub-acute care. Its performance level and functional choices rival those of the more advanced Evita series. Savina has options for BIPAP and for AutoFlow™ -- intelligent control of gas flow in volume-constant applications, to minimize airway pressure and allow flexibility in spontaneous breathing. It will be the first device to offer Dräger's unique open breathing system in a sub-acute care device.

Pictured: Sebastian Kaessner, Product Manager, Intensive Care Systems, with Savina ventilator

Dräger also demonstrated a beta version of its new software platform for the Evita 4 and Evita 2 dura. The new platform is expected to be available by the end of 2000. The release of Software 4.0 will establish a base to offer new expanded options to Dräger users. The first of such options, requiring 510k-market clearance, will be the expansion of Lung Mechanics measurements with the recognition of external flow devices such as a nebulizer or a TGI system. Other near-term options developed with this platform will be the addition of a nurse call output and a configurable Non-Invasive Ventilation (NIV) format available for all patient groups and all modality applications.

Contact Dräger by phone at 1 800 4DRAGER, or on the internet at www.draegermedical.com

Pictured: Stephen Moore, Respiratory Sales Specialist, with Evita series ventilators

Mallinckrodt Inc.

The introduction of the DreamSeal™ perimeter seal assembly to Puritan-Bennett's Breeze™ SleepGear™ makes this the only two-in-one interface system in which perimeter seal and nasal pillows can be swapped -- quickly and effortlessly -- for improved clinical ease and patient comfort under varying therapy demands requiring positive airway pressure. Breeze SleepGear's integrated one-piece design has eliminated complicated and confining straps, ensuring optimal fit for those who use nasal pillows. Now, the DreamSeal assembly brings the same benefits and solutions to traditional mask users. Contact Mallinckrodt, makers of Puritan-Bennett and other well-known respiratory care products, at 1 800 635 5267, or on the internet at www.mallinckrodt.com.

Pictured: Rachel Pontzer, Product Manager

Newport Medical Instruments

The recently-introduced Newport E100M ventilator is suitable for neonates, children and adults, in emergency room, intra-hospital transport and post acute/long term care settings. The compact easy-to-use E100M delivers pressure or volume ventilation in A/CMV, SIMV, SPONT and SPONT + APNEA A/CMV modes. Standard monitoring includes peak, mean and base airway pressure, set tidal volume, I:E, and total rate. There's an 8-hour internal battery, and an RS232 interface for central monitoring systems. Advanced Auto-Set Alarms and Back-up Ventilation enhance patient safety, and the Advanced Trigger Control (ATC) and Time-Limited Demand Flow features can help improve patient care and simplify ventilator management.

Accompanying this new ventilator is an interactive software demo designed for Newport by Amethyst Research (creators of VentWorld.com). This animated 'Virtual Ventilator' was used at the exhibition to help visitors learn about the features of the actual machine, and the demo soon will be available on Newport's web site and via CD-ROM as a promotional and educational product.

Contact Newport for more details by phone at 1 949 642 3910 or 1 800 451 3111, or on the internet at www.newportnmi.com.

Pictured: Janus Angus, Newport MarCom Manager and Tom Kallstrom, Director of Respiratory Care Services for Fairview Health Systems.

Novametrix Medical Systems Inc.

Novametrix, developers of innovative products for neonatal and pediatric respiratory patients, featured their NICO2™, a non-invasive physiologic monitor that measures cardiac output through respiratory gas analysis. The compact, completely-automated unit requires minimal setup time, eliminates the complications related to the use of PA catheters, features easy-to-read displays, and incorporates respiratory mechanics for a complete cardiopulmonary assessment of the patient. Contact Novametrix at 1 800 243 3444 or on the internet at www.novametrix.com.

Pictured: Tony Bull, Territorial Manager (L) & Randy Terry, Product Manager (R)

Siemens Life Support Systems / Versamed, Inc.

In addition to its own well-known line of ventilators, Siemens also featured the portable VersaMed iVent201 ventilator; a recent agreement makes Siemens VersaMed's sales, service and distribution partner to US hospitals.This exclusive partnership allows Siemens to address the ventilation needs for all patients categories; the iVent201 for low acuity patients, the Servo 300 for mid-range patients, and the Servo 300A for the high-end critical environment. More information is available on the internet at www.sms.siemens.com/emdus/index.html, and VersaMed can be contacted at 1 800 475 9239 or www.versamed.net.

Pictured: Heidi Hassan, Product Manager, Life Support Systems, and Nick Fleming-Wood, Territory Manager