A new study published in the Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery finds that diaphragm pacing (DP) stimulation in spinal cord-injured patients is successful not only in weaning patients from mechanical ventilators but also in bridging patients to independent respiration, where they could breathe on their own without the aid of a ventilator or stimulation.
The stimulation is provided by the Diaphragm Pacing System (DPS), a technology providing electrical stimulation to nerves running through the diaphragm, the major muscle involved in breathing. When stimulated, the diaphragm contracts, allowing patients to breathe more naturally than having air forced into their lungs as a mechanical ventilator would do. The system is implanted through minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery.