Diaphragm dysfunction is one of the most common — and most overlooked — drivers of weaning failure in the ICU. It develops quickly under mechanical ventilation, it isdifficult to detect clinically, and it carries real consequences for how long patients stayventilated.
In this talk from ERS RFMV 2026 in Rotterdam, Professor Alexandre Demoule walks through the physiology of diaphragm dysfunction, the evidence linking it to weaningand extubation failure, and the studies behind continuous, operator-independentdiaphragm monitoring.
He closes with the question that matters most at the bedside: what does this actually change in practice?
01
The problem
Why the diaphragm fails under ventilation.
02
The stakes
Its link to weaning & extubation failure.
03
The evidence
Continuous monitoring during the SBT (DE-RISK WF)
04
The technology
DXT demonstrated live on stage.
05
The takeaway
From physiology to bedside decisions.
Professor Alexandre Demoule is a professor of intensive care medicine at the Sorbonne University, in Paris.
He is the medical director of the medical intensive care unit, the step-down unit and the weaning centre within the Division of Pneumology and Intensive Care Medicine, La Pitié-Salpêtrière teaching hospital in Paris.
As the previous chair of the European Research Network on Mechanical Ventilation (REVA), he is an internationally recognized expert in mechanical ventilation and diaphragm dysfunction and has served as the principal investigator in multiple clinical studies evaluating DXT.
Professor Alexandre Demoule
Product • Newsroom • Team • Board of Directors • Investors • About • Contact • Privacy Policy •
RESPINOR: MedTech innovator specializing in diaphragm monitoring, introducing DXT, a non-invasive ultrasound-based technology to improve critical care and outcomes.
RESPINOR AS
Address: Gaustadalleen 21, 0349 Oslo, Norway
Phone: +47 24 02 25 54
Mail: mail@respinor.com
Monday-Friday: 8:30 to 17:00