Comparison

The Difficult Airway App vs VentilO

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

The Difficult Airway App

This medical app assists clinicians in managing emergency airways by providing rapid drug selection and dosing for RSI. It offers decision-making support with algorithms and mnemonics for difficult airways, along with educational resources.

Highlights
  • Adult and pediatric drug dosing for RSI
  • Obesity and hemodynamic adjustments
  • Broselow-Luten color system integration
  • Difficult airway algorithms and predictors
  • Step-by-step RSI guidance
  • Customizable drug formulary
  • Airway anatomy illustrations
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

The Difficult Airway App (v.3.3) The Difficult Airway App™ is an essential tool for clinicians who manage emergency airways in any setting: the ED, ICU, in-patient unit or the many EMS practice environments. THE RIGHT DRUGS, THE RIGHT DOSES, THE RIGHT WAY! This app rapidly and easily selects the right drugs for RSI, automatically adjusting for obesity and hemodynamics. Pediatric dosing and equipment selection is a snap using the Broselow-Luten color system or the child's estimated weight. Stay out of trouble! The Difficult Airway App™ guides the user quickly and easily through important algorithms, predictors of the difficult airway, and the step-by-step approach to RSI taught in The Difficult Airway Course: Emergency™. The Difficult Airway App™ features: EASY, YET SOPHISTICATED ADULT AND PEDIATRIC DRUG DOSING • For adult dosing, a few simple clicks bring you to recommended doses that incorporate patient weight, body habitus and hemodynamics. • The pediatric drug dosing function incorporates the color-coded system created by James Broselow, MD and Robert C. Luten, MD for rapid, safe management of pediatric airway cases. • The option to customize your formulary means that only the drugs you use will appear in the recommendations. DECISION-MAKING SUPPORT • Straight-forward algorithms allow you to quickly determine the best approach to your patient’s airway. • Easy mnemonics walk you through predictors of a difficult airway, including difficult laryngoscopy (LEMON), difficult BMV (ROMAN), difficult extraglottic device use (RODS) and difficult cricothyrotomy (SMART). • Pearls of wisdom, based on evidence and expert opinion, are offered throughout. RAPID SEQUENCE INTUBATION • The 7 – Ps of RSI: a step-by-step guide for adult and pediatric patients. • Adult and pediatric RSI drug dosing. EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES • Richly detailed illustrations of the airway anatomy. • Links to information about The Difficult Airway Courses™. Created by Ron M. Walls, MD, Michael F. Murphy, MD and Robert C. Luten, MD. With significant updates by Calvin A. Brown III, MD.

About

VentilO

This educational app helps healthcare professionals manage patients on mechanical ventilation. It provides guidance on setting initial parameters, optimizing settings for oxygenation and CO2 elimination, and understanding the impact of dead space. It also includes tools for calculating various respiratory parameters and links to additional resources.

Highlights
  • Initial ventilatory setting guidance
  • Parameter influence analysis
  • Optimization for oxygenation and CO2
  • Dead space impact education
  • Instrumental dead space calculation
  • Respiratory calculators
  • Links to additional tools
Features
Read full description

The VentilO application is a mobile educational application that allows healthcare professionals in charge of patients with mechanical ventilation: (i) to learn how to set the initial ventilatory settings in volume-controlled ventilation mode based on several parameters, (ii) to reason about the influence of different parameters on ventilatory needs in adult patients, (iii) to learn about optimization of ventilator settings for oxygenation, lung protection and CO2 elimination (iv) to learn about the impact of dead space on ventilation efficiency. The initial settings for minute ventilation (tidal volume (VT) and respiratory rate (RR)) will be proposed. The VT will be determined according to the predicted body weight, the body temperature and the type of patient (medical or surgical). VT/RR combinations for different targets of VT (3 to 10 mL / kg PBW will be provided, settings from 6 to 8 mL/kg PBW will be preferred). Educational texts are proposed to help other settings (PEEP and FiO2) in the different care contexts. ‘’Optimizing settings’’ is covered in another separate tab. Will provide calculation of several parameters (alveolar ventilation, dead space…) based on the patient’s data, ventilator settings and arterial blood gases results. In addition interpretations will be provided for Oxygenation, Ventilation (CO2) and Lung protection. In another separate tab ‘’Tools&Calculators’’, several tools are provided: -Impact of the instrumental is explained in details. Minute ventilation and alveolar ventilation (minute ventilation - dead space ventilation) are calculated. The physiological dead space is calculated according to published formulas linked to the predicted body weight of the patients, the instrumental dead space (linked to the volumes of the endotracheal tubes, connections, heat and moisture exchangers) is calculated. The impact of reducing dead space on several parameters is calculated (gain in alveolar ventilation, gain in reduction in tidal volume (and associated reduction in plateau pressure),or respiratory rate with constant alveolar ventilation) - Different Calculators (P/F ratio from SpO2, PBW…) -Links to several additional tools (Quick Reference Respiratory Care Card; O2 demand calculator, Recruitment to Inflation Ratio…) In addition to the measurements of these different parameters, several educational texts are accessible in the application to understand what dead space is during mechanical ventilation, what is instrumental dead space, what is the impact of dead space in function of ventilation settings and possible gains. These calculations and descriptions concern ventilated adult patients, in the emergency room, intensive care units and in the operating room. The VentilO application was developed with the help of several mechanical ventilation experts. The mobile application is trilingual (English, French and Spanish), based on the users settings.

Screenshots

The Difficult Airway App4 screens
VentilO4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: VentilO at 100% against The Difficult Airway App's 31%. VentilO also leads on price (Free vs $4.99) and rating (5.0 vs 4.1). The Difficult Airway App's advantage is ratings volume (22 vs 2) and chart position (#51 vs unranked). On ads, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

VentilO is free to download; The Difficult Airway App costs $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

VentilO holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: The Difficult Airway App has 22 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 31% of The Difficult Airway App's written reviews are positive against 100% of VentilO's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

The Difficult Airway App ships an update every 10 months, VentilO every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 10, 2026 and June 15, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
The Difficult Airway App versus VentilO: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThe Difficult Airway AppVentilO
Price$4.99Free — better
Rating4.1 (22 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews31.3% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings22 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 10 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
Best chart rank#51 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS13.013.0
Further details — not scored
Size62 MB26 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperAirway Management Education CenterInstitut universitaire de cardiologie et de pneumologie de Quebec

Customer experience

The Difficult Airway App

All ratings22 ratings
Positive77.3%
Neutral9.1%
Negative13.6%
Written reviews16 reviews
Positive31.3%
Neutral31.3%
Negative37.5%

VentilO

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

The Difficult Airway App

No in-app purchases

None

VentilO

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is The Difficult Airway App free?
The Difficult Airway App costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is VentilO free?
VentilO is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, The Difficult Airway App or VentilO?
VentilO is rated higher. The Difficult Airway App averages 4.1 out of 5 from 22 ratings, while VentilO averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do The Difficult Airway App or VentilO have ads?
Neither The Difficult Airway App nor VentilO shows ads.
Which is updated more often, The Difficult Airway App or VentilO?
The Difficult Airway App ships an update every 10 months, and VentilO every 2 months. Most recently, The Difficult Airway App was updated on September 10, 2026 and VentilO on June 15, 2026.

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