Is this a good and reliable vent? How do the different modes like Bilevel, prvc and pav compare with other vents.Is this vent. over priced?Would you buy this ventilator?

This ventilator has over 1000 reported failures (mostly while on patients since 2004. This is documented on the fda website. Keep in mind this is only what hs been reported. I don't know how they have not yet been recalled.

i personally do not like this vent, i have worked with it at 2 different facilities and think its not a good vent. the best vent on the market IMO is the Servo I. but thats my opinion.

The 840 is really a 7200 with colored graphics. Its been on the market now for what... close to 16 years? You can do much better

come on now ventuser, the 7200 did not have VC+, Bilevel, tube compensation, a active exhalation valve, PAV....... there is no comparison between the 840 and the 7200 other than the fact that the 7200 was a good vent and the 840 is a good vent.

Lets not spread lies

runner,
The 840 is not a bad vent. True it has had some reported failures over the years. I have worked with it in other facilities as well and personally I do have others that I prefer, but depending on your facility's needs and budget it could work out for you.
Just some advice. Do not get hung up on "new modes". In reality there has not been a new mode arise in years, just tweaks on the old ones. Everybody has them or something very similar, but because of legalities they have to change the name to protect the innocent.
I would ask your PB rep. for a performance report and biomed report to see if they have corrected any of the prior problems before any decisions are made.
Good luck!

Hi Light,

Was just making "light" of the question. No harm intended.
I agree with Bill C.

Having used the PB840, Servo I, and Drager XL, I find the Drager the superior of the three vents. Other than flow sensor out of range alarms i have no conerns with the XL. Also, with the availability of Intensivecareonline.com and 24hrs call center it makes it unbeatable on the market of the three mentioned. The only other new generation vent i have seen is the AVEA, but only on loan to trial.

I have never had a problem with the vent. VC+ and Bi-Level are great modes. It is fairly easy to learn and understand.

Hiya Runner:

Well I have used the 840 a fair amount. I have also used the Drager XL, Seimens I, and Viaysis Avea. I have not yet used the Galileo. I would say to date I have an appreciable interest in all the vents. I personally have had problems with the Avea and the 840. I have 2 840 stop cold on me I believe do to a graphics interface issue not that I'm biomed by any means. The Avea was simply a vent issue and had to do with inadequate flows.

The 840 has a great user interface, excellent graphics package, and some interesting new adjuncts. Cool thing about the interface is the way you make changes. The screen is split and makes it easy to watch graphically what is occuring as a result of the change. Active exhalation, tube compensation, and several modes now include pressure support options. The transducers appear very responsive to the patient which I would say is particularly noticable in PAV. PAV has not overly caught on yet but is a great weaning tool in place of Pressure Support. I personally never use VS but it is an option. VC+ well its like any dual mode and for that matter all the modes are available on all these vents.

The Seimens I in my opinion is a far superior ventilator all though I do relish the 840. The I has all the same capabilities. The vents I have seen do not have a form of tube compensation but they do have pressure support(:-)) The graphics are not buffered so what you see is what is going on in real time which is pretty neat. Now that NAVA has been released the will also be applied to the Seimens I. I think big things are around the bend for NAVA. It will take ventilator response and weaning to a whole new level from what I hear. The vent does have automode as well. Again not a lot of personally experience in automode but most that have used it find it a safe option for ventilation. It is compact, can easily be modified for pt transport, and is the easiest vent I have ever had to strip and clean. I havent got a lot of experience with it but I have always appreciated Seimens products.

The Drager again an excellent ventilator. Probably leading the way in weaning protocols. Cool stuff. All sorts of adjucts LPP for one. I think thats what it is called. Finding opening and closing pressures in one handy dandy maneuver. Of course like all new generation vents it will do everything but bake bread.

The Avea. I had a bad taste because of a trial we had that may have gone bad. The patients seemed to consistently outstrip the vent. It turned out to be an issue with that particular machine. There are a lot of menus but an excellent format. You can overlap loops if you performing open lung studies. Ummm it can do esophageal pressure monitoring. Thats all I can think of for now. No fancy shmancies like PAV, NAVA, or anything but completely functional in every other regard. Sorry thats all Ive go hope it helps.