PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Kaisti, Kaike K.
AU  - Mäkitalo, Jukka
AU  - Sipilä, Hannu T.
AU  - Teräs, Mika I.P.
AU  - Scheinin, Harry
TI  - Ventilator Add-On for Delivering PET Tracer Gases
DP  - 2004 Jun 01
TA  - Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
PG  - 79--82
VI  - 32
IP  - 2
4099  - http://tech.snmjournals.org/content/32/2/79.short
4100  - http://tech.snmjournals.org/content/32/2/79.full
SO  - J. Nucl. Med. Technol.2004 Jun 01; 32
AB  - Objectives: The increasing use of PET for assessing cerebral blood flow, oxygen metabolism, and blood volume in critically ill patients has created a need for reliable technical solutions for delivering 15O-tracer gases to mechanically ventilated subjects. Our objective was to create such a solution. Methods: We designed a ventilator add-on unit that enables complex functional brain studies using labeled oxygen and carbon monoxide gases as tracers. The unit manages both steady-state and bolus inhalations, and the latter can be manually initiated using a remote trigger. All parts conducting breathing gases can be sterilized. The unit can be operated during both spontaneous pressure support breathing and volume-controlled ventilation. It supports the standard safety features and alarms of the ventilator and includes an overflow valve in the bolus reservoir. Results: The count rate curves obtained using the new unit were similar to those from the standard bag-inhalation method. Conclusion: The unit we describe offers an economical and easily operated solution for providing uninterrupted ventilator treatment while performing PET brain studies, and the provided treatment meets intensive care criteria.