Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) is a serious lung disease in which inadequate ventilation of the lungs makes it difficult for oxygen to pass through into the body, the lungs are too stiff, and there are complex interactions between their physiology and the mechanical support they receive. Ventilator settings, ventilator responses, oxygen delivery and monitoring performance must be continually assessed in order to implement supportive management. The review will explore recent advances in mathematical respiratory modelling, lung protective ventilation, real-time graphical visualization, Web based monitoring, oxygen delivery and intensive care monitoring technologies useful for supportive care of ARDS. The examined literature shows many progresses in specific parts, but not so much in integrating them into a unified computational framework. In particular, physiological modelling, optimization of ventilator parameters, respiratory waveforms, remote monitoring and assessment of equipment performance are emphasized. The review highlights the requirement for an integrated ARDS specific simulation and monitoring environment that will enable a connection of ventilator inputs and dynamic physiological responses. The integration may be used to aid in research, education, training, and biomedical engineering evaluation, and can be used to create a controlled environment for research of supportive respiratory management strategies.
Keywords: ARDS, computational simulation, lung mechanics, lung-protective ventilation, mathematical modelling, mechanical ventilation
