Respiratory Carbon Dioxide Response Curve Computer
It gives more complete alveolar ventilation-PCOCO2 response curves than could formerly be obtained
J. Weldon Bellville 1 and
J. C. Seed 2
1 Member of the staff of the department of anesthesiology, Memorial Center for Cancer and Allied Diseases, and the Section of Experimental Anesthesia, Division of Experimental Surgery, Sloan-Kettering Institute, New York.
2 Staff of the Wellcome Research Laboratory, Tuckahoe, N.Y.
The respiratory computer described here makes it possible to obtain more accurate and precise alveolar ventilation-PCOCO2 response curves than formerly and with fewer man-hours of labor. It is hoped that the ease of obtaining these response curves will lead to their more frequent use in evaluating respiratory phenomena. Clinical applications in evaluating the effects of changes in compliance and airway resistance on respiration are readily apparent. This technique is being used to study the degree of respiratory depression caused by narcotics and anesthetics and to study the effects of stimulating drugs. Respiratory stimulation and depression in a variety of disease states are also being pursued (13).
