What Should You Look for in a High-Quality Lung Simulator?

Lung simulators play a critical role in advancing respiratory care, ventilator design, and clinical training. The right tool helps clinicians, researchers, and manufacturers understand how respiratory devices will perform in real-world conditions.

But what exactly makes a lung simulator “high-quality”? And how do you choose the right one for your needs?

At Michigan Instruments, we’ve spent decades helping professionals across healthcare and industry make the right choice. Here are some of the key features to look for when selecting a lung simulator.

1. Realistic Lung Behavior

A high-quality lung simulator should behave like real human lungs. That means it should be able to simulate normal breathing as well as a wide range of respiratory conditions like obstructive lung disease, restrictive lung conditions, and more.

Our lung simulators are designed to provide realistic volumes, compliance, and resistance. The ability to simulate different lung mechanics makes it possible to test how devices perform in a variety of patient scenarios, from healthy to critically ill.

2. Adjustable Settings

No two patients are the same, and neither are their lungs. One of the most important features of any lung simulator is the ability to customize lung compliance and airway resistance across a wide range of settings. This flexibility allows users to mimic hundreds of real-life conditions, giving manufacturers and clinicians valuable insight into how equipment will function in diverse situations.

Our TTL® and PneuView® systems offer a broad range of adjustability, helping you replicate both adult and infant lung mechanics with precision.

3. Real-Time Data and Feedback

For researchers and educators, being able to see what’s happening in real-time is essential.

Our PneuView® systems come equipped with software that provides real-time data collection, display, and analysis. You can graph and record pressure, volume, flow, and other important measurements as they happen, allowing for deeper insight and post-test review.

This level of detail is especially valuable when training respiratory therapists or testing new devices, helping you make informed, data-driven decisions.

4. Simulation of Spontaneous Breathing

Many respiratory therapies rely on the interaction between a device and a patient’s breathing effort. That’s why we developed the Spontaneous Breathing Lung (SBL™) module. 

This add-on allows users to simulate patient-initiated breaths with adjustable rates, volumes, and inspiratory timing. With the SBL™, you can test how a device responds to and supports the patient’s breathing pattern.

5. Versatility for Different Applications

Whether you’re training healthcare students, developing new ventilator technologies, or performing product demonstrations, the lung simulator you choose should be flexible enough to support all these use cases—and more.

Michigan Instruments offers models that accommodate infant through adult, and even dual-adult, simulations. This allows users to evaluate performance across a range of scenarios without needing multiple systems.

Making the Right Choice

Choosing a lung simulator isn’t just about the specs—it’s about finding a tool that supports your mission.

At Michigan Instruments, our lung simulators are built to provide accurate, consistent, and customizable respiratory simulation for a wide range of applications. 

From hands-on education to advanced device testing, our systems are designed to help you deliver better outcomes in respiratory care and innovation.