Ventilator for small animals, Internal air pump

The Small Animal Ventilator, suitable for a mouse or guinea pig, operates as either a volume or pressure-cycled ventilator, meaning that it dispenses a designated volume of air with each breath or it ventilates until a designated lung pressure is reached. Pressure-cycled ventilation prevents hyper-inflation of small animal lungs. When the ventilator operates in Volume mode, it dispenses a known airflow into the lungs for a set inspiratory time to generate the desired tidal volumes. The three controls – respiratory rate, inspiratory time and flow rate – allow for accuracy and extraordinary flexibility over a wide range of volumes, breaths-per-minute and I/E ratios. When the ventilator operates in Pressure mode, a built-in solid-state transducer monitors airway pressure. Simply set the desired end-inspiratory pressure. During inspiration, airflow is introduced into the lungs until this pressure is reached, at which point inspiration is terminated. This mode is especially useful for tiny animals, where hyperinflation of the lungs is a danger. An output voltage corresponding to airway pressure is provided for external monitoring or recording.