Dive Brief:
- Royal Philips received CE mark approval for a noninvasive ventilator that allows clinicians to quickly alternate between therapies for patients in respiratory failure as their conditions change, without having to switch devices.
- Called the Philips V60 Plus, the device is intended for early intervention in respiratory failure and can provide both noninvasive ventilation (NIV) and high flow therapy that is used to wean patients from NIV.
- Combining both modes in one machine helps doctors wean patients off the ventilator sooner, simplifies the clinical workflow and maximizes equipment investments, the company said.
Dive Insight:
Noninvasive ventilation provides respiratory support through the patient’s upper airway using a mask, avoiding the need for an artificial airway such as an endotracheal or tracheostomy tube.
Use of NIV has been on the rise over the past several decades in the intensive care setting as an alternative to endotracheal intubation. It is most frequently used for managing acute chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and heart failure exacerbation but is being applied to a wider range of respiratory diseases.
According to Philips, patients with acute respiratory failure who get NIV early in their treatment have fewer serious complications and adverse events in the intensive care unit. However, physicians sometimes have difficulty weaning patients off of the therapy.
The Amsterdam-based hospital equipment maker said the V60 Plus ventilator is meant to help improve that process.
“When treating respiratory patients in intensive and emergency care settings, it’s critical for clinicians to be able to wean efficiently or to quickly escalate care depending on their patient’s condition and specific needs. This often means complex workflows and alternating devices in time-sensitive situations,” Jim Alwan, head of Philips Hospital Respiratory Care, said in a press release.
With the new ventilator, “clinicians can focus on providing for their patients while spending less time setting up equipment,” Alwan said.
The V60 Plus ventilator is available for sale in Europe, and Philips said it has submitted a 510(k) application to FDA to introduce the machine in the United States.
