Interfaces for Noninvasive Ventilation: General Elements and Options

Abstract

Noninvasive ventilation (NIV) interfaces are devices that allow the ventilator’s conduits to be connected with the patient’s face. Adequate performances of these interface devices are vital for fulfillment of the primary objective of successful NIV. Simply put, NIV is a technique for providing ventilation without the use of an artificial airway. The search for a perfect interface started concurrently with the beginning of the era of positive-pressure noninvasive ventilation. It seems unlikely that we will ever devise an interface that would, in spirit, proclaim itself as “one size fits all.”