Friday, September 08, 2006
The Beginning ...
Wanted to find something lively as the backdrop, this is the best that I could find.
Alright! I shall start by introducing this blog. This blog is setup to help myself keep track on my FYP status.
Currently a final year student @ NTU SCE. My FYP is all about Ventilator Weaning.
Consider this scenario:
A patient has just came out from an operation. He/she needs to rely on a machine (known as the Ventilator) to breathe.
Typically, it may take weeks / months for the patient to full recover, i.e. the reliance on the ventilator will ideally drop to zero dependency.
How does the ventilator know how much dependency is needed? Ah ha! Kudos to the doctors & nurses, who keep constant check on the patient. Depending on certain circumstances, the dependency may increase or decrease.
What does dependency mean? Basically, the ventilator, based on the doctors/nurses' instructions, will inject a certain amount of Oxygen into the patient. As mentioned, an ideal situation is for the patient to be able to breathe on his/her own. This, typically, may take a few weeks or up to a few months. In other words, the patient will be in hospital for quite sometime, thus "depriving" other patients of a bed, and taking up more precious time of the doctors/nurses.
How does my project help then? I'm supposed to come up with a Control System, which helps to determine the dependency on the ventilator by the patient. Of course, since this is a matter of life or death, this Control System does not make decision on its own. It is meant to help the doctors/nurses monitor the situation without their presence. In a way or another, should there be a change in the dependency, they will be alerted.
I guess this somewhat summarizes the whole project. =)
Alright! I shall start by introducing this blog. This blog is setup to help myself keep track on my FYP status.
Currently a final year student @ NTU SCE. My FYP is all about Ventilator Weaning.
Consider this scenario:
A patient has just came out from an operation. He/she needs to rely on a machine (known as the Ventilator) to breathe.
Typically, it may take weeks / months for the patient to full recover, i.e. the reliance on the ventilator will ideally drop to zero dependency.
How does the ventilator know how much dependency is needed? Ah ha! Kudos to the doctors & nurses, who keep constant check on the patient. Depending on certain circumstances, the dependency may increase or decrease.
What does dependency mean? Basically, the ventilator, based on the doctors/nurses' instructions, will inject a certain amount of Oxygen into the patient. As mentioned, an ideal situation is for the patient to be able to breathe on his/her own. This, typically, may take a few weeks or up to a few months. In other words, the patient will be in hospital for quite sometime, thus "depriving" other patients of a bed, and taking up more precious time of the doctors/nurses.
How does my project help then? I'm supposed to come up with a Control System, which helps to determine the dependency on the ventilator by the patient. Of course, since this is a matter of life or death, this Control System does not make decision on its own. It is meant to help the doctors/nurses monitor the situation without their presence. In a way or another, should there be a change in the dependency, they will be alerted.
I guess this somewhat summarizes the whole project. =)
# posted by cl0udi3 @ 1:56 PM 
