A newly-developed negative pressure ventilation (NPV) applied to patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)

Using NPV adjuvant with pulmonary rehabilitation may unload ventilatory muscles, and decrease ventilation/perfusion mismatch, reduce breathing work and dyspnea, leading to a decrease in exacerbations and mortality in COPD. However, the cuirass of the available NPV machine may not fit the body shape of our patients resulting in less negative pressure suction. We developed an improved new design ergonomic negative pressure ventilator for COPD in co-operation with Industrial Technology Research Institute and JooGood Inc. in Taiwan. First, we developed a new patented cuirass together with a newly-developed negative pressure ventilator. 28 COPD patients randomly used either the available NPV (n=13) or the new NPV (n=15) for 3 months. Total lung capacity (TLC), residual volume (RV), RV/TLC and 6 min walk test (6MWT) were performed before and after the treatment. Our newly-developed cuirass was more comfortable, adherent to body, and more easy operation, lightness, and satisfaction than the available NPV. After 3-month treatment, our newly developed NPV effectively reduced RV and the ratio of RV/TLC, while the available NPV didnot show any effect. The 6 min walk distance was significantly increased from 366.1±36.6 M to 413.5±28.5 M (p<0.05). Our new NPV improved oxygen saturation (86.9±1.8% vs 89.4±1.3%, p<0.05) and dyspnea sensation (Borg scale 5.5±0.6 vs 4.1±0.4, p<0.05) after 6MWT in COPD patients after 3-month treatment. The available NPV had no positive effect. Our newly-developed NPV and cuirass provided more ergonomic and comfortable treatment, while providing improvement in exercise tolerance, exercise-induced oxygen desaturation and dyspnea in COPD patients.