By Jeanette Martinez
Staff Writer

Pig lungs, an infant Manikin and X-ray films caught the attention of scores of students who stopped in at Life and Health Sciences Building 1.502 on Wednesday.

These were only some of the items exhibited during an open house sponsored by the Respiratory Therapy Program. The event was a part of the program’s observance of National Respiratory Care Week.

Darcy Carpenter, a clinical supervisor in the Respiratory Care program, said the open house is oriented toward gaining the interest of health care students.

"Most of the students that are going to come through here are HPRS students, they’re health care professional students, plus all the other health programs," Carpenter said. "That’s who we cater to because we want to get them interested in our program."

Various stations were set up giving examples of different aspects of respiratory care, such as neonatal/pediatric, pig lung, oxygen devices, ventilator, ABG arm, adult CPAP, chest X-rays and vest.

At the neonatal/pediatric station, a Manikin infant was set up on a table to show visitors resuscitation of neonatal patients.

Two pig lungs, one bright pink and the other dingy and tar-covered, were exhibited as examples of healthy lungs and the unhealthy lungs of a smoker, respectively. When a foot pump was pressed to simulate breathing, the healthy lungs inflated and deflated while the unhealthy lungs did not.

Visitors also could view a ventilator and hear an explanation of its uses. The ventilator basically breathes for patients who cannot breathe on their own.

An arterial blood gas arm also was displayed. The procedure shown at the station is used to measure oxygen, pH, CO₂ and bicarbonate levels of blood after changes are made to the ventilator, or when giving oxygen to a patient. With this procedure, the improvement or status of a patient can be measured.

At the adult CPAP station visitors were informed the machine is used in order to prevent putting a patient onto mechanical ventilation by giving positive pressure ventilation to the patient with the Continuous Positive Airway Pressure machine.

X-rays of patients with different respiratory problems, as well as an example of an improper X-ray, were displayed on a wall at the chest X-ray station.

At the vest demonstration station, a person could put on a chest vest, which moves secretions from the lower airway to the peripheral airway for expulsion (coughing).

The open house focused on more than just learning about the program.

"The kids get exposure to other health care students, they can come see our program [and] we can show them our stuff," Carpenter said. "We have a lot of fun."