In 1940, Frenkner and Crafoord collaborated on the "Spiropulsator", which was the first anesthesia ventilator that could be used simultaneously with cyclopropane. 

In 1942, Bennett, an American engineer, invented an oxygen supply device with an on-demand valve for use in high altitude flights. In 1948, the intermittent positive pressure ventilator TV-2P was developed to treat acute and chronic respiratory failure. 

In 1946, Bennett developed the first intermittent positive pressure ventilator with the basic structure of modern ventilator and applied it in the clinic. Since then, the air-controlled-pneumatic pressure-limited ventilator has become the mainstream form of positive pressure ventilator. The main representative models of this period are Bennet PR-1A and Bird mark VII, which belong to the first generation of modern ventilators. However, in clinical practice, it was found that these types of positive pressure ventilators often failed to ensure effective tidal volume. To make up for this deficiency, designers developed a capacity monitoring device and began to explore the development of capacity-limited ventilators.

In 1950, Engstrom of Sweden developed the world's first volume-converting ventilator, marking the birth of the second generation of modern ventilators. Since then, positive pressure ventilation technology has reached a new level.

In 1951, Engstrom Medical in Sweden produced the first constant-volume ventilator, the Engstrom 100, which saved a large number of patients from respiratory failure caused by epidemic poliomyelitis. Many European engineers, physicians and others invested in the research of ventilators, and the output of ventilator types reached more than ten types.

In the 1960s, the respirator was more widely used. In 1964, Emerson's postoperative ventilator, an electrically controlled ventilator with breathing time that could be adjusted at will, was an electronic circuit ventilator equipped with a compressed air pump, and various functions were regulated electronically, changing the situation that the ventilator was completely controlled by mechanical movements in the past, and the ventilator began to cross into the era of sophisticated electronics.

In 1970, a jet-controlled pneumatic ventilator using the jet principle was developed. This ventilator is controlled by airflow and all sensors, logic elements, amplifiers and regulation functions are based on the jet principle.

Since the 1980s, the rapid development of computer technology has led to a deeper understanding of respiratory physiology, while new design ideas (such as fluid control principles) and new technologies (such as electronic computer technology) have been adopted. The multifunctional computer-based third-generation ventilator has functions that were not possible in the past, such as monitoring, alarming, and recording.

From the 1990s to the present, ventilator ventilation technology has become more and more sophisticated and has begun to enter the era of intelligent ventilation.