Total liquid ventilation can support gas exchange in animal models of lung injury. Clinical application awaits further technical improvements and performance verification. Our aim was to develop a liquid ventilator, able to deliver accurate tidal volumes, and a computerized system for measuring lung mechanics. The computer-assisted, piston-driven respirator controlled ventilatory parameters tha...

To the Editor: We report results of the effect of inactivated seasonal influenza vaccination on risk of pandemic (H1N1) 2009 in a cohort of nurses in Canada who participated in a recent randomized controlled trial that compared the effectiveness of surgical masks with that of N95 respirators in preventing influenza (1). From September 23, 2008, through December 8, 2008, a total of 446 nurses fr...

The present outbreak of Ebola has health care professionals seeking guidance on isolation precautions for routine care and aerosol-generating procedures (AGPs). The most recent guidelines state that during AGPs, health care professionals should wear respiratory protection at least as protective as a National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health-certified fit tested N95 filtering face pi...

ecent studies and much debate have focused on quantifying the airflow requirements of respirator users, particularly under conditions of very high to maximal work rates. It is often assumed that respirators and their components must be tested at flow rates that closely match these measurements to assure protection to users. This overly simplified assumption ignores the differences between labor...

Repeated pulmonary collapse and changes suggestive of a severe alveolar-capillary diffusion defect were observed over a period of 20 days in a patient who was receiving artificial ventilation because of status epilepticus. Profound cyanosis followed attempts to discontinue assisted ventilation. The Bird Mark 8 respirator employed was found to be delivering approximately 90% oxygen on the air-mi...

Laparoscopic surgery had a rapid development over the past decade. However, the view of the surgeon is limited to the image of the laparoscope. Augmented reality can provide further information to the surgeon by enabling a view inside the patient, and thus supporting a more precise and less invasive procedure. The limiting factors for realistic augmentation during liver surgery are movement and...