Procedure

Testing the valve is relatively simple, provided the necessary equipment is present. Two factors are highly important in testing and implementation:

Pressure

Pressure and flow are interdependent, but the valve depends on pressure in order to generate the airspeed necessary to form the virtual valve. At the low flow present in medical equipment, even small leaks can result in pressure drops, so ensure that no leaks are present between the flow limiter and the valve. The valve's O2 port has been designed to accomodate standard oxigen line fittings with minimal leaks, but teflon tape may be used if leaks are present.

Flow

Standard air compressors have a much higher flow rate than medical equipment, so flow limiting is crucial. You may achieve good PEEP with your test equipment, then take it to the hospital and get terrible PEEP.

Testing the valve

A video demonstrating testing is included below. TURN DOWN YOUR VOLUME

Connect a soda bottle to your manometer via any means available, and insert the valve into the mouth of the soda bottle. Some teflon tape may be necessary to achieve a good seal.

Valves come in a variety of channel diameters from 10mm to 5mm. These produce an increasing range of pressures. Depending on the calibration of your SLA printer, you may need to use a smaller channel to achieve your target pressure. The table below gives ballpark maximum pressures achievable with a well-calibrated printer

Channel Diameter	Pressure (cm H2O)
10mm	6-9cm
9mm	7-11cm
8mm	8-12cm
7mm	8-14cm
6mm	9-15cm
5mm	10-17cm