Abstract: A method of operating a ventilator assembly having inhalation and exhalation passages communicating with one another, and a respiration assembly that can perform repetitive respiratory cycles. The method includes (a) connecting the conduit with an open end of an endotracheal tube positioned within the trachea so that the open end leads into the airway below the vocal cords, (b) repetitively cycling the respiration assembly so that during the inhalation phase, gas in the inhalation passage flows through the endotracheal tube and into the airway, and during the exhalation phase, an exhalation valve is maintained relatively closed and the exhaled gases flow pass the vocal cords and out of the mouth thereby facilitating the patient's ability to speak, and (c) monitoring ring the pressure within at least one of the passages during both phases for determining the pressure within the patient for use in operating the ventilator assembly.

Abstract: The present invention describes the configuration of a porous sheet for improving the efficiency for generating an aerosol from a liquid formulation. This aerosolized liquid formulation can be used for intrapulmonary delivery of pharmaceutically active drugs and diagnostic agents when said invention is used in conjunction with the appropriate device. The individual pores in each array (defined as the rows and columns of pores for example in a rectangular array) are generated such that there is a discrete or continuous variation in the pore size within the plurality of pores on the sheet. The drug is subsequently aerosolized by forcing the liquid formulation through the pores on the sheet. The resulting aerosol will contain a controlled range of particle sizes defined by the properties of the porous sheet and the liquid formulation.