Why a Touch Screen LCD Display is the Best for Ventilators

Our health-care heroes work tirelessly every day to save the lives of those we love and require tools that are reliable, durable, and performance-ready. One of the life-saving tools that are being used in the medical field is a respiratory ventilator. Ventilators are essential for critically-ill patients with various respiratory diseases, including COVID-19. The best way to ensure that they will continuously perform with maximum potential is by manufacturing them with a TFT LCD touch display module. We will go over what ventilators are, how a TFT LCD can assist this machine, and why it is the best choice for ventilator displays. 

What is a Ventilator?

Ventilators help doctors and nurses save lives throughout the medical field. These machines help critical care patients breathe by circulating breathable air through a patient’s lungs. 

Ventilators help patients with medical conditions that impact their normal lung function, including:

          1.) Respiratory illnesses, including, flu, pneumonia, and COVID-19

          2.) Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS)

          3.) Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)

          4.) Asthma

          5.) Lung cancer

          6.) Stroke

          7.) Injuries to the brain

          8.) Muscle/nerve damage in relation to breathing 

          9.) Drug overdose

Patients with the above medical conditions either rely on the ventilator partially or fully to assist them with breathing. Ventilators can also be used in operating rooms for patients under general anesthesia and with premature babies whose lungs have yet to fully develop. 

What makes up a Ventilator?

Ventilators are various parts that all work together harmoniously in a well-oiled machine to provide life-saving care. Not every manufacturer makes their ventilators the same and there are pros and cons to each one but there are general parts that are common amongst all ventilators, regardless of who creates it.

          1.) Touch screen LCD display for patient vitals and ventilator controls

          2.) Compressible air reservoir

          3.) Tubes and valves set

          4.) Air and oxygen supplies

          5.) Disposable or reusable patient circuit plastic tube set

          6.) Alarms, oxygen tanks, power back-ups (i.e. batteries)

          7.) Safety valves

          8.) Pneumatic system or electronic turbo pump

Ventilator machines are in the business of saving lives and need to be reliable with zero failure. We at E3 Displays, focus on putting the patient first and manufacture TFT LCDs for ventilators that uphold the most rigorous testing and ISO 13485 standards. We manufacture displays that are built to save lives and built to last.

Why a TFT LCD is the Best Choice

Modern medicine is continuously evolving and growing which is why, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as of 2017, the average life expectancy in the United States is 78.6 years. Today’s medical tools are commonly equipped with TFT touch LCD displays to provide more control and simplify patient care. 

Here is why touch screen displays are the best choice for respiratory ventilators:

1. 1.) Accuracy

TFT color LCDs accurately display patient vitals and ventilator settings allowing a patient’s medical                   team to make informed decisions regarding patient care. This is made possible through TFT-LCD                         technology that emits high-resolution imagery which is important in an essential life-saving machine.

       2.)  Ease of Use

             Touch screens provide efficient versatility with ease of use. Before touch screens, machines harbored               an abundance of buttons and dials that made them complicated and bulky which took up valuable                   patient room space. Touch screens have made it easier to check patient vitals, adjust settings, and                     silence alarms.

             A TFT-LCD is much more efficient and has built-in security features to prevent accidental touch and                   altercation of ventilator settings.  

       3.) Hygienic, helping to limit the spread of diseases

            How many times a day do you touch door handles, shopping carts, your face, and then your phone all              without washing your hands in between? People have become more conscious of these things in the              world of coronavirus, but it can still be a challenge to completely eliminate cross-contamination. 

           Medical displays are the most likely to be contaminated with bacteria and pathogens both on the                     surface and within the display module. Therefore, they need to be able to withstand rigorous cleaning             and disinfecting with harsh chemicals. Here at E3 Displays, we’ve created a medical-grade TFT display               for ventilators that can withstand these requirements due to its flush design and elimination of                         buttons and dials that create hard to reach places for chemicals and nesting spaces for harmful                         bacteria. A TFT touch LCD makes ventilator cleaning easier and protects already vulnerable patients. 

       4.) Multifunctional

             A TFT LCD touch display can contain more features in a confined space due to the decreased need for               buttons and knobs. The display is multi-functional and can not only control the ventilator but display               patient information and vitals at the same time.

       5.) Portability 

            Respiratory machines are notoriously heavy and bulky making them an unavoidable nuisance and                      mobility inhibitor for patients and doctors. Equipping a ventilator with a TFT LCD display can                              streamline the machine design and make it more portable. 

            TFT modules are thin-film transistors that make the ventilator screen thin and lightweight, therefore                  enabling an in-room ventilator to become more  portable and less bulky or making it ideal for already              portable devices commonly found on emergency vehicles. 

Capacitive Touch and Ventilators

There are various types of touch technologies used among ventilator screens, with capacitive touch being the most common. You might be thinking, “There are different types of touch?”. Well, when it comes to touch screens, they all perceive and process your touch differently. Let us explain.

What is a Capacitive Touch Screen?

Capacitive touch screens are the most common, especially in the medical field and therefore, ventilators. Electric charges from human touch travel through the surface of the screen, disrupting the screen’s electrostatic field and triggering the device’s reaction to said touch.

Capacitive touch screens are unique in that they can only be controlled by human contact or corresponding stylus pen. 

What is IN a Capacitive Touch Screen?

TFT capacitive LCD touch screens are comprised of:

          1.) Glass insulator 

          2.) Transparent conductor coating 

          3.) Microchip controller

          4.) CMOS digital signal processor 

          5.) Backside glass with mounting adhesive 

          6.) These layers are typically topped with a protective glass.

What is a Projective Capacitive Touchscreen?

Projective Capacitive Touchscreens (PCT)  are a type of capacitive technology that uses advanced touch sensors to expand its touch capabilities.

What makes a PCT unique in structure is a transparent electrode film and integrated circuit chip that create a three-dimensional electrostatic field. This produces a more sensitive and reactive touch display with the ability to:

          1.) Activate multi-touch features

          2.) React to surgical gloves

          3.) Prolong durability

Here at E3 Displays, our preferred touch technology for ventilator displays is a TFT LCD projective capacitive display module.

How Does a Capacitive Touchscreen Benefit Ventilator Displays?

1. ) Clarity 

Capacitive displays provide some of the clearest images when compared to other touch technology. Resistive technology is designed with the image display directly behind the protective glass layer which is not ideal for medical displays where image accuracy is vital for saving a critically-ill patient.

Utilizing capacitive touch in ventilator displays provides astounding clarity and visibility to enable medical teams to accurately monitor patient vitals and make informed decisions towards patient care.

2.) Ease of Use

Capacitive touch screens do not require pressure to sense touches, therefore, making it easier to use in fast-paced environments in the medical field. Light touches are all it takes to operate the ventilator, increasing operational efficiency. Projective capacitive touch screens are also glove-friendly making it ideal for medical displays.

3.) Durability 

Capacitive touchscreens are ideal for ventilators because of their resistance to liquids, surface contaminants, cleaning chemical tolerance, and overall durability. It is important to note that TFT displays are not indestructible so it’s important to still care for the display like a long term investment by following all manufacturer guidelines in order to get the maximum performance and durability.

Conclusion 

Hopefully you now know more about how a ventilator operates, the benefits of touchscreen display modules for ventilators, the different types of touch technology, and why projective capacitive is the best choice. TFT projective capacitive touchscreen LCDs from E3 Displays are the best for ventilators because they simplify the user experience, are easy to clean, lightweight, and allow the machine to be portable. They also create the sharpest and most accurate imaging.

Touch screens, in general, are beneficial for ventilators because they provide:

          1.) Multi-function

          2.) High image quality

          3.) Durability 

          4.) Ease of use

Ventilators are in increasing demand and are being relied on to change the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. If you are a manufacturer looking to enhance your respiratory ventilators, put your trust in E3 Displays to create a reliable, accurate, and durable high-quality TFT touchscreen to help you be a part of saving lives and changing medicine.

About E3 Displays:

You are in the business of saving lives and E3 Displays is in the business of making sure you have the necessary tools to do so. E3 Displays is trusted by the most elite medical professionals around the world to create innovative medical displays and has over a combined 20 years of experience, ORION certification, as well as ISO 9001:2015 and 13485 standards. E3’s innovative solutions provide impact resistance and safety enhancements to deliver the best patient care. E3 displays are designed for longevity and provide high-reliability touch screens for all medical use cases while improving performance, accuracy, and efficiency. We have extensive experience in creating medical display solutions that meet optical specifications and custom touch panel features with custom chassis and computing solutions. At E3 Displays, we can help you create the next medical display innovation.