Alveolar Minute Volume Calculator

How to Use the Alveolar Minute Volume Calculator

The Alveolar Minute Volume (AMV) Calculator helps estimate the effective volume of air reaching the alveoli per minute, excluding the dead anatomical space. This is a crucial metric in pulmonary medicine, respiratory therapy, and intensive care assessments.

Enter Breathing Rate — Input the number of breaths per minute. You may also choose alternate units like breaths per second, hour, or day, which the calculator automatically converts to breaths per minute internally for accurate computation.

Input Tidal Volume — Provide the tidal volume, the amount of air moved in or out per breath. Select either mL or L based on your available data. This value represents the gross air volume before removing the anatomical dead space.

Set Dead Anatomical Space — Dead space is the portion of tidal volume that doesn't participate in gas exchange. Enter a typical adult value (≈150 mL) or a measured estimate. You can choose mL or L; the tool handles conversion automatically.

Enter or Calculate AMV — Leave one of the four fields (Rate, TV, DAS, or AMV) blank to auto-calculate that variable. The formula used is:
AMV = Breathing Rate × (Tidal Volume − Dead Space).

Review Results — After clicking "Calculate," you'll see the result displayed with unit conversion. The tool allows input of any three parameters to solve for the fourth, making it highly flexible for clinical, academic, or simulation use.

For adults at rest, typical input values are: Breathing rate ≈ 12 breaths/min, Tidal Volume ≈ 500 mL, and Dead Space ≈ 150 mL. This calculator is optimized for medical education, ventilator settings, and pulmonary physiology estimations.