Mechanical Ventilation Expert vs VentRef
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Mechanical Ventilation Expert
This medical app assists intensive care physicians in managing patients with acute respiratory failure. It provides advice on mechanical ventilation parameters and helps determine optimal respiratory support methods based on research findings.
- Mechanical ventilation parameter correction
- Respiratory support method selection
- Non-invasive oxygenation index estimation
- Guidance on invasive and non-invasive ventilation
- Educational tool for physicians
- Based on multicenter research
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Caution! This app is intended for intensive care physicians. If you are NOT a physician and would like to use it anyway, please consult your physician before using this app or making any medical decisions. This app has endorsement for usage in the Russian Federation. Many doctors deal with the treatment of patients with varying degrees of acute respiratory failure (ARF). But the choice of the optimal method and, especially, the timely correction of the parameters of invasive and non-invasive mechanical lung ventilation often cause difficulties, especially for young doctors. Unfortunately, expensive ventilation machines, without their skillful use, are not a guarantee of an improvement in the mortality rate in ARF. This has been especially evident during the COVID-19 pandemic. In international clinical practice, it is customary to determine the degree of ARF by the oxygenation index (the ratio of the partial pressure of oxygen in arterial blood (PaO2) to the fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO2)). This indicator is also included in most "severity of illness" scoring systems (SOFA, APACHE II-III, etc.). However PaO2 estimation is only possible after collecting the arterial blood for laboratory monitoring of blood gases, making it costly and invasive. In 2020-2021 a multicenter research was carried out at five clinical hospitals in Volgograd, Russia, which included 1038 patients with acute lung injury and acute respiratory distress syndrome against the background of viral (COVID-19) and bacterial pneumonia. The goals of the research were firstly, to develop a non-invasive method for determining the oxygenation index (PaO2 / FiO2) based on oxygen saturation (SpO2), and secondly, to define general criteria for correcting the parameters of invasive and non-invasive mechanical ventilation. This application is based on the results of the research. The relationship between SpO2 and PaO2 index values was determined for various FiO2 and types of respiratory support. The app also implements the general principle of oxygen therapy - from less to more invasive. The app allows the user not only to choose the most effective method of respiratory support, but also timely learn about the need for its correction. Every clinician knows that the mortality rate in patients with ARF is greatly influenced by the validity of the beginning and end of Invasive Mechanical Ventilation treatment - and this app solves this problem. The educational effect of this app should also be noted. It will help doctors to quickly master and more competently use expensive ventilation machines, which, of course, will have a beneficial effect on the results of treatment of patients with ARF. The following sources were used to create the app: 1. Brown SM, Grissom CK, Moss M, Rice TW, Schoenfeld D, Hou PC, Thompson BT, Brower RG; NIH/NHLBI PETAL Network Collaborators. Nonlinear Imputation of Pao2/Fio2 From Spo2/Fio2 Among Patients With Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome. Chest. 2016 Aug;150(2):307-13. doi: 10.1016/j.chest.2016.01.003. Epub 2016 Jan 19. PMID: 26836924; PMCID: PMC4980543. 2. Bilan N, Dastranji A, Ghalehgolab Behbahani A. Comparison of the spo2/fio2 ratio and the pao2/fio2 ratio in patients with acute lung injury or acute respiratory distress syndrome. J Cardiovasc Thorac Res. 2015;7(1):28-31. doi: 10.15171/jcvtr.2014.06. Epub 2015 Mar 29. PMID: 25859313; PMCID: PMC4378672. 3. Yoshida T, Takegawa R, Ogura H. [Ventilatory strategy for ARDS]. Nihon Rinsho. 2016 Feb;74(2):279-84. Japanese. PMID: 26915253. 4. Fan E, Brodie D, Slutsky AS. Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome: Advances in Diagnosis and Treatment. JAMA. 2018 Feb 20;319(7):698-710. doi: 10.1001/jama.2017.21907. PMID: 29466596. 5. Петров, В. И. Эволюция клинико-фармакологических и терапевтических принципов лечения инфекции COVID-19 / Петров В. И. [и др. ]. - Москва : ГЭОТАР-Медиа, 2021. - 312 с. - DOI: 10.33029/9704-6386-4-ECPC-2021-1-312. - ISBN 978-5-9704-6386-4.
VentRef
A clinical reference tool for healthcare professionals managing mechanical ventilation and oxygen therapy. It provides information grounded in respiratory physiology and evidence-based critical care.
- Mechanical ventilation reference
- Oxygen therapy reference
- Respiratory physiology
- Evidence-based critical care
- Clinical decision support
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VentRef is a focused clinical reference for clinicians managing invasive and noninvasive mechanical ventilation and oxygen therapy, grounded in core respiratory physiology and evidence-based critical care practice. This application is intended for educational and informational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Calculations and reference values are derived from published peer-reviewed medical literature and textbooks cited in the Sources section of the app. Always seek the guidance of a qualified healthcare professional with any questions regarding medical conditions or clinical decisions, and do not disregard or delay seeking professional advice because of information provided by this app. About Rishi Kumar, MD, FACC ("RK.MD") I'm an adult cardiothoracic anesthesiologist and cardiovascular ICU intensivist practicing in academic medicine. I'm passionate about teaching with free, open-access medical education. Learn more on my site: https://rk.md
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Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: VentRef at 100% against Mechanical Ventilation Expert's 33%. VentRef also leads on rating (5.0 vs 1.9) and ratings volume (42 vs 7). Mechanical Ventilation Expert's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 26.0). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
VentRef holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 1.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: VentRef has 42 ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 33% of Mechanical Ventilation Expert's written reviews are positive against 100% of VentRef's.
Mechanical Ventilation Expert ships an update every 2 weeks, VentRef every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on July 23, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Mechanical Ventilation Expert | VentRef |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 1.9 (7 ratings) | 5.0 (42 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 33.3% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 7 | 42 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks — better | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 1 MB | 27 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Valeriy Streltsov | Rishi Kumar |
Customer experience
Mechanical Ventilation Expert
VentRef
In-app purchases
Mechanical Ventilation Expert
No in-app purchases
VentRef
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Mechanical Ventilation Expert free?
Is VentRef free?
Which has better reviews, Mechanical Ventilation Expert or VentRef?
Do Mechanical Ventilation Expert or VentRef have ads?
Which is updated more often, Mechanical Ventilation Expert or VentRef?
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