Pneumatic-to-electrical analog for high-frequency jet ventilation of disrupted airways.

A pneumatic-to-electrical circuit analog is used to describe 2 separate mechanisms by which high-frequency jet ventilators sustain ventilation and oxygenation in the presence of large airway disruptions. The frequency-dependent mechanism is based on variations in the pneumatic equivalent to capacitive reactance. The pressure-dependent mechanism models lung defects on a voltage-controlled resistor. The electrical circuit model is also used to explain the factors leading to gas trapping and inadvertent positive end-expiratory pressure during high-frequency jet ventilation.