Reducing ICU Length of Stay Through Smarter Ventilation Monitoring

ICU Beds Are Full - But Are They Efficient?

In critical care, time is more than money - it's survival. ICU length of stay (LOS) is one of the most closely monitored hospital metrics, influencing costs, capacity, and patient outcomes.

While many factors contribute to prolonged ICU stays, one modifiable and often overlooked issue is patient-ventilator asynchrony (PVA) - subtle mismatches between a patient's breathing effort and the ventilator's support.

Asynchronies Are Common — and Costly

PVAs are not rare events. In fact:

• Up to 90% of ventilated patients experience some form of asynchrony
• 38% experience clusters of ineffective efforts — which increase the odds of ventilation >8 days by 6.4x, and mortality by 4.9x

These disruptions in synchrony can result in:

• Prolonged mechanical ventilation
• Increased need for sedation
• Failed weaning attempts
• Longer ICU stays and higher costs

Traditional Monitoring Leaves Gaps

Most ICUs still rely on:

• Spot checks during rounds
• Alarm thresholds
• Infrequent waveform reviews

But these methods often miss critical events:

• A study of 900 ICU professionals found only 3.67% could identify all major asynchronies correctly
• 12% missed all of them entirely
• Years of ICU experience had no effect on detection — but specific training made clinicians 3.67x more accurate

In short: teams are working hard, but flying blind.

Smarter Monitoring Can Shorten Ventilation Time

Decision support systems (DSS) and AI-powered waveform analysis are changing the landscape of mechanical ventilation. They're not designed to replace clinical judgment — they exist to surface patterns that are otherwise impossible to track manually.

In clinical trials:

• A DSS based on digital twin modeling led to significant improvements in oxygenation and ventilation efficiency when advice was followed
• A separate study on CDSS-guided weaning showed a 5.2-day reduction in ventilation time and a 26% increase in sensitivity for detecting weaning readiness

These systems help clinicians act sooner — and with more confidence.

How Deep Breath Supports Your Team

At Deep Breath, we developed a real-time monitoring platform designed with clinicians, for clinicians.

• ✓ Detects all major types of PVAs (94% sensitivity)
• ✓ Visual dashboard to support daily rounds and handovers
• ✓ No extra hardware or new ventilators needed
• ✓ Already used in ICUs across 6 countries

Instead of more alarms, Deep Breath provides clear insights, backed by data, to help reduce ventilation time and support early weaning decisions.