The present invention relates in general to a method and a system for detecting a patient circuit disconnect of a ventilation system, and more particularly, to a method that not only detects patient circuit disconnect occurring in various locations of the circuit, but also informs critical subsystems of the ventilation system of the disconnect and/or a possible disconnect of the patient circuit.
When a patient's respiratory system cannot provide adequate oxygenation and/or ventilation, a mechanical ventilation system is typically used to provide breathing gas, particularly, supplemental oxygen to a patient through a patient circuit. The patient circuit generally has an inspiratory line and an expiratory line connected to an inspiratory port and an expiratory port of a wye fitting. The wye fitting further has a patient port connected to a patient. The mechanical ventilation is either supplied by intubating the patient by an endotracheal tube connected to the patient port of the wye fitting or by providing the patient with a face mask or a hood. The inspiratory line is also connected to a pneumatic system of ventilator from which the breathing gas is supplied, and the expiratory line conveys the gas exhaled by the patient to the ventilator and/or ambient air.
Disconnects of the patient circuit can typically occur in various areas of the patient circuit, including disconnect within the inspiratory line, disconnect within the expiratory line, and disconnect at the patient port of the wye fitting. When the patient is intubated with the endotracheal tube, disconnect may also occur at the patient upon endotracheal tube extabation. The disconnect at any of the above areas normally results in insufficient breathing gas being provided from the ventilator to the patient, which may consequently cause impairment or possible collapse of the lung of the patient.
Prior art systems and methods for detecting disconnect of a patient circuit have been developed which typically generate an alarm indicating the disconnect occurring in the patient circuit so as to prevent lung collapse due to circuit disconnect. However, the reliability of such conventional systems and methods is often affected by the location of the disconnect, the ventilation mode being used, the tubing size and length selection, and the physical size of the patient.
Therefore a substantial need exists in the art to provide a method and/or a device which detects circuit disconnects in a reliable and timely manner for a ventilation system regardless of disconnect locations, ventilation mode, patient size, and/or patient breathing pattern.