ABSTRACT
The number of patients requiring long-term mechanical ventilation (LTMV) in the home has markedly increased over the last 10 years. Along with this increase has been a demand for better. more versatile ventilators for use in the home. The advent of bilevel pressure devices has greatly expanded the ventilator choice available for long-term mechanical ventilation. In addition. within the last few years a number of new volume-/pressure-targeted home care ventilators have entered the market. These ventilators are much more responsive than previous volume-targeted home care ventilators and most are also capable of providing invasive pressure-targeted ventilation. All of these additions have increased the options available for both practitioner and patient and have made LTMV in the home more feasible.
