Journal of Theoretical Medicine
Volume 4 (2002), Issue 3, Pages 197-207
doi:10.1080/1027366021000023124

Modeling Recruitment Maneuvers with a Variable Compliance Model for Pressure Controlled Ventilation

P. S. Crooke,1 J. J. Marini,2 and J. R. Hotchkiss2

1Department of Mathematics, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37240, USA
2Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Regions Hospital and University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55101, USA

Received 1 June 2001; Accepted 31 July 2002

Copyright © 2002 Hindawi Publishing Corporation. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

A nonlinear mathematical model for pressure controlled, variable compliance ventilation is proposed, solved, and analyzed. The effect of the variable compliance on the key outcome variables, tidal volume, average lung volume, total PEEP, and mean alveolar pressure, is presented. Using human data, the variable compliance model is used to investigate effects of recruitment maneuvers on the key outcome variables.