The SAVE-ME Project

Welcome to the SAVE-ME mechanical ventilation simulator!

The ventilator simulator incorporates 100 dynamically responsive virtual patients with case presentations encompassing asthma, COPD, pneumonia, acute lung injury, and restriction. It is intended for practitioners interested in the emergency and critical care support of those with respiratory failure, whether medical student, intensivist, emergency medicine provider / paramedic, respiratory therapist, advanced practice nurse, or military personnel.

This free educational tool provides a self-paced learning experience that can be either guided- the software provides suggestions after each set of ventilator changes- or you can choose to go it alone for any or all of the patient scenarios. Once you have completed the first 10 scenarios, the simulator will provide an individualized performance assessment, with feedback addressing both overall outcomes and proficiency stratified by patient type.

The behaviors of each virtual patient are determined by the respiratory equations of motion (non-linear model), mode and settings of the ventilator, a multicompartment gas exchange model, and models of oxygen consumption, cardiovascular mechanics, CO2 production, and acid base physiology.

To download the simulator:

Click on The simulator can be downloaded here link;
When asked if you want to Open or Save the file VentSim2018.xls, click Open;
Select the option Save as either an Excel Workbook or a macro enabled workbook;
You will see a pop-up stating this file contains macros, activeX controls, web files,...,that may contain personal information. Click Yes to continue to save. The message appears because of the presence of the macros that run the program; we have configured the settings such that it will not save your name or any identifiable information. You can verify this by checking the properties of the file when you have saved it.

Download Section

The simulator can be downloaded here.

To use the simulator:

Open the file if you have closed it;
When prompted, click (or choose) Enable macros;
If you would like to have individualized mentoring for any patient, enter y in the box adjacent to Is guidance desired? If you do not wish for guidance to be provided, enter n in this box.
The goals for each scenario (minimum and maximum) are shown in the lower left corner, and the current values for each parameter appear under Observed;
Enter your desired ventilator settings in the upper left hand corner of the display. If you wish to administer a fluid bolus, click Push to administer fluid bolus;
Click Push to run with selected mode and settings.
When you have finished managing each patient, click either Push when treatment goals have been attained (if you are satisfied with the status of the patient) or Push to abandon the current patient (if you do not think the patient is supportable). This will call up the next virtual patient.
When you have completed a session, simply save the file; it will remember where you are in the population;
If you enter infeasible options (such as a negative tidal volume), you will get an error message. Simply click OK and resume managing that patient;
Do not click Push to completely clear simulator unless you want to start over from the very first patient.

We hope you find this freeware to be useful and interesting. Its development was funded by Agency for Health Care Research and Quality R18 HS023453-01 and carried out by John Hotchkiss, Philip Crooke, Jonathan Paladino, and Chris Brackney. All rights are reserved; this tool is not intended for commercial use.

Contact Information: CANVENT Group

Updated November 27, 2018.