Neonatal patient ventilator circuit

Abstract

A disposable neonatal patient ventilator circuit for an automatic ventilator. All components that are exposed to contamination from the patient are packaged together in a disposable unit external to the automatic ventilator. The automatic ventilator has a receptacle with a pressurized breathable gas supply port, a breathing control circuit port, and preferably a patient monitoring port. The disposable neonatal resuscitator unit matches the ports on the automatic ventilator with a removable plug having a pressurized breathable gas supply connector mating the gas supply port of the receptacle; a breathing control circuit connector mating the control circuit port of the receptacle and a monitoring connector mating the monitoring port of the receptacle. A patient interface such as a tracheal insertion tube or mouth insertion manifold has an inlet and an outlet each in flow communication with the neonatal patient's airway. A gas supply conduit communicates between the patient interface inlet and gas supply connector of the plug. Breathing control valve, in communication with the interface outlet and with the breathing control connector of the plug, serves to exhaust exhaled pressurized gas from the patient airway when open and retaining pressurized gas in the patient airway when closed, in response to open and close signals communicated by the automatic ventilator via the breathing control connector of the plug.