End-tidal CO2 is the level of carbon dioxide that is released at the end of an exhaled breath. The end-tidal CO2 monitor consists of two main components:
- The sensor is a non-disposable device that takes continuous carbon dioxide measurements from a patient’s exhaled breath. This is attached to the right side of the VIVO 55 ventilator, and allows real-time adjustment of ventilator settings while the patient is being ventilated
- A disposable airway adapter that attaches to the patient’s circuit
Once the end-tidal CO2 monitor is assembled and connected to the right side of the VIVO 55 ventilator, it should be calibrated before use. To do this:
- Turn on the ventilator using the switch on the right side of the device
- To access the calibration programme in the menu, select the ‘others’ menu, and locate the ‘FiO2/ CO2 calibration’ option
- Follow the on-screen instructions to ‘start CO2 zeroing’
Once the end-tidal CO2 monitor has been zeroed, the machine will give an end-tidal CO2 reading when the ventilator is running.