Anesthesia Ventilator for Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins and California Sea Lions

Innovative Veterinary Medicine, Inc. will conceptualize and design an anesthesia ventilator named DolVent specifically designed to meet the unique physiologic requirements of Atlantic bottlenose dolphins and California sea lions. The significance of the DolVent ventilator will be its ability to properly support normal respiratory function in anesthetized animals using ventilation modes that mimic the natural breathing patterns of these animals and best manage their respiratory mechanics. To best meet these goals, DolVent will minimally include Airway Pressure Release Ventilation (APRV) and Apneustic Anesthesia Ventilation (AAV) modes. The ventilator will be designed with commercially available components and be compatible and operable with commercially available human and large animal veterinary gas anesthesia systems. The species-specific features of the DolVent ventilator will meet a modern set of biomedical criteria to maximize safety, durability and efficacy. In addition, DolVent will be fully deployable and meet compatibility/conditional standards for use in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) facilities. A removable electronic, enhanced user interface (EUI) will be designed to improve and simplify user application of DolVent"s capabilities. A Board Certified Veterinary Anesthesiologist recognized as a global authority on anesthesia of both California sea lions and Atlantic bottlenose dolphins and will oversee concept, design, and prototype development.