ISO 19223-3:2025

Overview

ISO 19223-3:2025 - Lung ventilators and related equipment - Vocabulary and semantics - Part 3: Respiratory care is the first-edition ISO vocabulary for terms used in respiratory care. It standardizes semantics for equipment and practices such as respiratory high‑flow therapy, sleep apnoea breathing therapy, masks and accessories, neonatal respiratory therapy, and related health informatics concepts. The standard is part of the ISO 19223 series (prepared by ISO/TC 121/SC 4) and is intended to harmonize terminology across device standards, labeling, interoperability and electronic health records.

Key topics and definitions

This document focuses on vocabulary (terms and definitions) rather than performance limits. Major topic areas include:

• General terms: e.g., lay user, home healthcare environment, oxygen inlet connector, ventilatory support.
• Respiratory high‑flow therapy: definitions for high‑flow equipment, cannula types (including asymmetric designs), and therapy modes.
• Sleep apnoea breathing therapy: terms such as auto CPAP, breathing hose types and adapters, auto‑start/auto‑stop functions, airway pressure accuracy, diagnostic apnoea (≥10 s and ≥90 % airflow reduction).
• Masks and accessories: standardized terminology for therapy masks and connectors.
• Neonatal respiratory therapy: dedicated vocabulary for neonatal devices and interfaces.
• Informatics and data: terms for respiratory therapy data, interoperability, and EHR integration.

Notable document attributes:

• No normative references (informative vocabulary standard).
• Explicit scope and exclusions: excludes mechanical ventilation (defined in ISO 19223:2019), high‑frequency and jet ventilation (ISO 19223-2:2025), negative‑pressure and liquid ventilation, and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO).

Practical applications - who uses it

ISO 19223-3:2025 is useful for:

• Manufacturers of ventilatory support, high‑flow and sleep apnoea devices - to harmonize product descriptions, labels and instructions for use.
• Standards developers - to reference consistent terminology across equipment standards.
• Regulatory and clinical engineers - for device documentation, compliance and risk communication.
• Health informatics teams and EHR vendors - to map device outputs and respiratory therapy data for interoperability.
• Clinical users and procurement - to reduce ambiguity in specifications and device selection across home healthcare and professional settings.

Related standards

• ISO 19223:2019 (mechanical ventilation vocabulary)
• ISO 19223-2:2025 (high‑frequency and jet ventilation terminology)
• ISO 4135:2022 (related terminology references)

Using ISO 19223-3:2025 helps ensure consistent, unambiguous language for respiratory care devices, improving safety, interoperability and clarity in labeling and clinical documentation.