What Makes Michigan Instruments Lung Simulators Different?

What Makes Michigan Instruments Lung Simulators Different Blog Image (1)

Lung Simulators continue to change the field of respiratory care for healthcare providers everywhere. Featuring a simulated airway and the ability to represent realistic residual lung volumes, our lung simulators are ideal for settings like staff development, classroom training, research and development and the testing of respiratory care devices like ventilators.

However, not every lung simulator available on the market today is created equal. Recognized as a leader in the industry, Michigan Instruments’ lung simulators have been used by thousands of providers worldwide due to their unique capabilities, available models and PneuView software.

Lung Simulation Capabilities Beyond Others in the Market

Unlike more simple test lungs on the market, our devices offer a realistic representation of the human pulmonary system and a wide range of compliance and resistance settings that go beyond what others offer. While other lung simulators are not fully to scale and can only perform a handful of simulations, Michigan Instruments’ lung simulators are fully to scale and have the ability to replicate hundreds of healthy and diseased lung conditions while providing users with real-time, accurate measurements and data.

Available in Adult & Infant Models

Our devices are available in three models: Single Adult, Dual Adult and Adult-Infant. With three models for therapists and researchers to choose from, it provides greater flexibility and the ability to simulate a wider range of patient populations.

Our PneuView System

Our PneuView Software was designed with our customer’s needs in mind. With the software included in our instrumented versions of our Lung Simulators, it can accurately provide numeric and graphical display of ventilation parameters in real-time. This data can be graphed, tabulated, and digitally recorded and retrieved or replayed for later review and analysis.

These instrumented lung simulators give healthcare professionals the ability to train, measure and reference past data to see improvements in staff training and knowledge. These products are also ideal for collegiate medical simulation labs, where hands-on training for future respiratory professionals is critical to future patient care.

If you are interested in learning more about adding one of our Lung Simulators to your classroom, training program or research facility, contact us to receive a quote and more information!

 

 

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When Every Compression Matters, You Can Rely on Michigan Instruments

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When Every Compression Matters, You Can Rely on Michigan Instruments

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR, is one of the primary factors that can influence the survival of a cardiac arrest patient. When proper, high-quality CPR is performed, it helps deliver oxygenated blood to the patient’s brain and other vital organs until medical care can be performed. This increases the patient’s chance of survival and reduces the risk of permanent neurological damage.

Manual CPR Fatigue Sets in Within 2 Minutes

Maintaining high quality, uninterrupted chest compressions is a key factor to increasing a patient’s chance of survival. However, a person performing manual CPR can become fatigued after performing just 2 minutes of chest compressions. Any deterioration in the depth or rate of compressions, or interruption to compressions caused by switching providers can impact the patient’s chances of survival. So, when every compression matters, you can rely on Michigan Instruments’ automated CPR devices to perform high-quality, continuous CPR.

What is High Quality CPR?

According to the American Heart Association (AHA), high-quality CPR must adhere to the following guidelines:

  • Chest compression fraction >80%
  • Compression rate of 100-120 per minute
  • Compression depth of at least 50mm (2 inches) in adults and at least 1/3 the AP dimensions of the chest in infants and children
  • No excessive ventilation
  • Minimal interruptions in chest compressions

Performing high-quality, manual CPR requires substantial physical and mental effort from the caregiver, especially depending on how long the resuscitation takes and how many times compressions must be interrupted. This can become even more challenging in a pre-hospital setting when a patient is being transported. Michigan Instruments’ automated CPR devices provide a solution that not only helps to reduce caregiver fatigue, but also provide non-stop, high-quality compressions that comply with AHA guidelines.

Rely on Michigan Instruments’ Life-Stat and Thumper Automated CPR Devices

At Michigan Instruments, we know that every compression matters. That is why our automated CPR devices, the Life-Stat and Thumper, provide consistent, external compressions that give the cardiac arrest patient their best chance at survival. Being lightweight and easy to use, our devices support a quick transition from manual to automated CPR that minimizes the interruption to compressions. With high-quality, hands-free CPR being performed, it gives medical professionals the time to concentrate on performing other life-saving care.

CPR saves lives. That is why Michigan Instruments has been a dedicated leader in the field of automated CPR for over 55 years. If you want to learn how our automated CPR devices have helped EMS professionals, doctors and nurses provide their patients with high quality CPR and care, contact us to learn more.

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Respiratory Therapists Play a Vital Role in Patient Care

Respiratory Therapists Play a Vital Role in Patient Care blog image

Respiratory Therapists Play a Vital Role in Patient Care

Respiratory Therapists work with doctors and nurses to treat patients of all ages, ranging from premature infants, whose lungs have not fully developed, to adults with lung disease. Typically, they assist medical teams with the following:

  • Diagnosing lung or breathing disorders
  • Evaluating patients, performing tests and conducting studies
  • Determining appropriate therapy and treatment options
  • Managing equipment and devices needed for treatment such as ventilators and oxygen machines
  • Educating patients and families about lung disease and breathing disorders

Throughout the pandemic, the role of all healthcare professionals, especially respiratory therapists, became critical in the care and treatment of patients with COVID-19.  As the country and the world continue to evaluate ongoing conditions caused by the virus, we continue to see our lung simulators used for developing and testing new equipment and respiratory treatments.

The emerging trend in healthcare toward a multidisciplinary team to deliver primary healthcare services has made the role of Respiratory Therapists integral in the care of patients.  Now, working collaboratively with other medical teams, Respiratory Therapists are helping the healthcare industry move toward a patient-centered approach that can help to improve the management of diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), while also helping to focus on disease prevention and health promotion for patients.

Michigan Instruments, a Pioneer in Respiratory Care

Michigan Instruments’ test lung simulators have been used by thousands of Respiratory Therapists worldwide and are considered the gold standard of respiratory simulation. From hands-on training to testing new respiratory care products and techniques, our test lung simulators for adults and infants offer the most realistic and accurate simulation of the human pulmonary system available today.  They help Respiratory Therapists provide the highest quality of care and life-saving therapy to patients. 

Want to learn more why Michigan Instruments has been called a pioneer in respiratory care? Contact us to learn more about our lung simulators and how they can be used by your Respiratory Therapy team.

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Michigan Instruments Delivers Lung Simulators for Ventilator R&D

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Michigan Instruments delivers unprecedented number of lung simulators to aid in ventilator research and development amid shortage

Michigan Instruments, a leading manufacturer in Lung Simulation, has delivered an unprecedented number of lung simulators to organizations around the world to help in respiratory technology research and critical ventilator development and manufacturing to combat the shortages caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Many countries, including the United States, are continuing to see a rise in COVID-19 cases, which brings to light the extreme lack of medical resources like ventilators available to hospitals and critical care facilities.

In response, the world has seen an incredible response in the development and manufacturing of ventilators as researchers attempt to create a cost-effective and efficient lifesaving solution. Michigan Instruments has been at the forefront of this response by working with organizations to deliver Lung Simulators designed for validating and testing these ventilators. 

Organizations like NASA, Ford Motor Company, Cornell University, Michigan Technological University, University of California San Diego, OperationAir, and the Royal Women’s Hospital, Monash University and the Alfred Hospital in Australia have all used Michigan Instruments lung simulators to aid in the development and discovery of several potential ventilator solutions.

  • A group of engineers from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory have developed a high-pressure ventilator that can mechanically breathe for patients with the most severe cases of COVID-19.
  • Students and faculty from Cornell University, Michigan Technological University, and the University of California San Diego have all developed versions of effective, low-cost ventilator systems created using inexpensive materials or materials readily available.
  • OperationAir has also developed a prototype called the AIRone, an easily producible emergency ventilator that can be used when shortages occur due to the pandemic. Production has already started on the device and its design is open source and available globally.
  • A team of researchers from the Royal Women’s Hospital, Monash University and Alfred Hospital have successfully tested, in a simulated environment, the potential to ventilate two lungs of different compliances from a single ventilator using only commonly available hospital equipment.

These lung simulators provide developers with cutting edge technology that can aid in the design, engineering, testing and manufacturing of devices like ventilators by replicating hundreds of healthy and diseased lung conditions to evaluate a ventilator’s performance with accurate measurement and data reporting.

Based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Michigan Instruments continues to produce and ship Lung Simulators. The increased demand in production allowed Michigan Instruments to utilize qualified workers from other manufacturers forced to close during the Michigan shut down, as well as existing employees working extended hours.

Chris Blanker, President & Owner of Michigan Instruments shared, “In a time when many manufacturers were forced to lay off employees and slow production, we were blessed to be able to remain open, provide work for our employees and utilize very talented workers from local companies forced to close. Sadly, this is due to the Pandemic, but our team is proud to know that our devices are helping with the development and supporting the production of ventilators and other devices that help save lives.”The ventilator’s modularity, that it can function as a transport or an ICU ventilator, running with a desktop or laptop, is one of the key innovations of Ivy’s design. By running multiple instances of the clinician software, a single tablet or computer can govern multiple ventilators remotely, so nurses can monitor many patients without having to enter their rooms.

Chris Blanker shared, “We are very proud to have been able to quickly ramp up production and delivery of our lung simulators for the organizations that are developing and manufacturing critical ventilators and other devices to help save lives. The production ramp up was challenging, but our team rose to the task.  We’ve worked closely with developers and manufacturers of all backgrounds and we look forward to continued partnerships like this. ”

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MTU Supports Open-Source COVID-19 Device Research

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HOUGHTON — As COVID-19 cases have surged, the shortage of working ventilators has become one of the biggest obstacles in treating patients.

A Michigan Technological University professor is one of the people working on a solution. Joshua Pearce, Richard Witte Endowed Professor of Materials Science and Engineering and a professor of electrical and computer engineering, is co-editor in chief of HardwareX, an open-source scientific hardware journal. It is now accepting submissions for an issue with proposals for making ventilators and other necessary equipment, such as non-contact thermometers and N95 respirators. Those can be through 3-D printing, or with materials and tools readily available at hardware stores. 

Several previous authors have indicated they will submit papers, Pearce said. One South American researcher is testing an open-source ultraviolet sterilization method that can be used for entire rooms. 

“He had done it for biological research, but he’s adapted it for a hospital setting as well,” Pearce said. 

Submissions will be taken until June 1, then posted online within a week of their acceptance. HardwareX is making the issue available to all to ensure a fast peer review. 

Michigan Tech is also tackling the problem. Pearce runs the Michigan Tech Open Sustainability Technology (MOST) Lab. He is also part of Tech’s Open Source Initiative. 

One approach they are working on is recreating a low-cost ventilator used by a Tech Enterprise team that was deployed in Africa. 

“That is slightly challenging because we only have access to one of the labs on campus,” Pearce said. 

Testing is using artificial lungs from Michigan Instruments to simulate the ventilators’ effect on humans. 

“No one is quite there yet,” Pearce said. “It’s very, very challenging on the software side to control the pressures so you don’t damage people’s lungs.”

COVID-19 closures have already caused problems with access to some places. One of the most promising leads was a paper published in 2019 by a research team in Pakistan, with whom Pearce had been working. The team had access to an artificial lung and could run tests immediately. However, their university was shut down due to the pandemic. 

“The last version of the code is stuck on some computer at the university, and nobody can get access to it,” Pearce said. 

Other researchers are looking at converting a CPAP machine to assist people in breathing. 

All of this is taking place when teams are restricted to what Pearce calls “the absolute worst way to do designing”: limits on how many can be in a lab, limited access to equipment and disrupted supply chains. Before the next pandemic, Pearce said, there should be government-funded open-source designs pre-tested and ready to put into place when the need arises.

“That would relieve a lot of the costs associated with having stockpiles, and really help the countries that don’t have the capital to build 10,000 ventilators,” he said. 

In March, Pearce conducted a review of open-source ventilators. While promising, he said, the systems that had been tested and peer-reviewed did not have full documentation. Those that were documented were either early designs or had not finished testing. 

“With the considerably larger motivation of an ongoing pandemic, it is assumed these projects will garner greater attention and resources to make significant progress to reach a functional and easily replicated open source ventilator system,” he said. 

A $1,500 ventilator system being developed by the Innovative Global Solutions Enterprise team at Tech had been one of the furthest along, Pearce said. However, it could not reach its fundraising goal through Superior Ideas, Michigan Tech’s crowdfunding platform. 

“If it had been funded, we’d probably have the solution already and we could shop it out,” Pearce said.

See The Daily Mining Gazette Article.

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TTL vs. PneuView: What’s the Difference?

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Simulation of Spontaneous Breathing Adult Patient

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Simulating Dolphin Pulmonary Capacity

At Michigan Instruments, our Test Lung Simulators are used for a number of different applications. From classroom instruction to product evaluation, pulmonary research or clinical intervention, our customers value the versatility, accuracy, and realism of our test lung simulations. But what if the simulation and testing isn’t for a human?

The Challenge:

A veterinary facility located in Ponte Verde, Florida recently reached out to the experts at Michigan Instruments with a unique request.

They were developing a ventilator designed for use on dolphins when putting them under anesthesia and needed a way to test this piece of equipment. The Test Lung Simulator had to be able to measure at a much larger pulmonary capacity than is necessary for humans – 12 liters to be exact – and there was nothing available on the market.

In short, they needed to simulate dolphins under anesthesia, and needed a device that could simulate and measure large tidal volumes to successfully test their equipment before using it on live animals. They looked to Michigan Instruments for help.

The Solution:

The team at Michigan Instruments began developing and testing a unique solution for the veterinary clinic, helping them ensure their ventilators were safe and effective for medical use.

By taking three of our dual adult test lungs and manufacturing a special airway assembly that connected all three together, we were able to provide the lung capacity that was required to simulate the dolphin pulmonary system.

We forged and built the custom airway in-house, developed in-depth operational documents and sent the test lungs directly to the veterinary clinic with everything they needed to accurately test their equipment.

The Results:

The veterinary clinic was able to successfully test their ventilators in preparation for use on large mammals such as dolphins. They were also able to train other specialists on their ventilator’s operation in advance of any anesthetic surgery.

From Michigan Instruments’ perspective, it was a lot fun to develop this custom product for such a unique application!

“It was a fun adventure,” says Eric Hadesh, Document Control Manager at Michigan Instruments, “it was definitely something we don’t do day-to-day and it was interesting to determine how best to complete and assemble the system, then come up with the pictures and documentation. It was a great learning experience for us, but also an exceptional application of our lung simulation products and capabilities.”

This is just one example of many that shows how Michigan Instruments continues to forge ahead as an innovative pioneer in the respiratory care industry. Setting the standard in quality, versatility and durability, we never shy away from a challenge and are always operating from a ‘what’s next’ mentality.

Learn more about our test lung simulators or contact us today with any questions. We love a good challenge and can’t wait to hear about how you would like to use any of our state-of-the-art products to better train your people, test your products, or perform groundbreaking medical research.

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PneuView3 Improvements, Compared to PneuView2

PneuView3 Improvements from Michigan Instruments are worth mentioning!

Did you know that Michigan Instruments’ NEW Training and Test Lung embodies a mechanical respiratory simulation of the human pulmonary system that can measure airway pressure, lung pressure, tidal volume, and many other parameters?

Originally developed 40 years ago, the “Michigan Instruments TTL” was developed to simulate the human pulmonary system. The PneuView3 software was completely redeveloped with insight from our customers, biomechanical engineers, respiratory therapists and educators at area universities. With the New PneuView3 Software, the redesigned training and test lung, which is fully to scale, gives users the ability to simulate hundreds of patient scenarios.

The system includes a mechanical test lung (or lungs) simulator that’s precisely engineered with a set of electronic sensors, a signal conditioning package, and an integrated micro control unit.

The PneuView3 software application calculates respiratory parameters and waveforms, displaying them in real time. It also allows you to export data for later review.

A range of models are available, including:

  • Dual adult
  • Single adult
  • Adult-Infant

All are available as instrumented or non-instrumented models.

An Improved User Experience

Take a look at the different interfaces of the old and new software. You’ll find a much easier way to set up a project, patient parameters, and see the output in real time. This allows your Training & Test Lung to be used for staff training, ventilator calibrations, and more.

PneuView2

What makes the new “Michigan Lung” and the PneuView3 Software Different?

Most training and test lungs perform just a handful of simulations and are not fully to scale, which means that their parameters are adjusted according to a scale model. This gives the Michigan Lung the advantage of moving and “feeling” like a real lung when it’s ventilated.

The re-designed Michigan Lung and PneuView3 Software provide a comprehensive lung simulation that can be used in the improvement of respiratory products, calibration of ventilators and in research to enhance patient care and treatment.

PneuView3

While the previous version was great for those with extensive training, the PneuView3 Software is streamlined and intuitive, allowing for easier setup, learning, and operation.

  • The new Michigan Lung and PneuView3 Software provide comprehensive data by displaying dozens of parameters like pressures, flows, and volumes.
  • High-Frequency Ventilation is available for human lung simulations of all types.
  • The new lungs feature an increased resolution of output data.
  • Built-in temperature and FIO2 (Fraction of Inspired Oxygen) calculations are included.
  • The software is compatible with all modern Windows®-based operating systems.

Learn more about the Michigan Lung Test & Training Lungs.

Do you have questions about the new “Michigan Lung”, the PneuView3 Software or would like a quote? Contact us at sales@michinst.com or 616.554.9696.

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