Ventilator: What is this ??

A ventilator is a piece of medical technology that provides mechanical ventilation by moving breathable air into and out of the lungs, to deliver breaths to a patient who is physically unable to breathe, or breathing insufficiently. Ventilators are computerized microprocessor-controlled machines, but patients can also be ventilated with a simple, hand-operated bag valve mask. Ventilators are chiefly used in intensive-care medicine, home care, and emergency medicine (as standalone units) and in anesthesiology (as a component of an anesthesia machine).

“Ventilators support and assist in breathing and may be deemed necessary for a person who is in respiratory failure and for whom it is difficult to breathe or to get enough oxygen to the bloodstream. The bellowing action of the ventilator moves oxygen (and carbon dioxide) into and out of the lungs.”

Ventilators are sometimes called "respirators", a term commonly used for them in the 1950s (particularly the "Bird respirator"). However, contemporary hospital and medical terminology uses the word "respirator" to refer instead to a face-mask that protects wearers against hazardous airborne substances.[1]

The Pandemic Time

Healthcare policy-makers have met serious challenges to estimate the number of ventilators needed and used during the pandemic. When data is often not available for ventilators specifically, estimates are sometimes made based on the number of intensive care unit beds available, which often contain ventilators.