Intrapulmonary Percussive Ventilation (IPV) has a designed lung protective strategy to prevent lung injury that can occur with the electronic pressure-volume ventilators used on hospitalized patients with acute obstructive lung diseases.

By employing step (sub-tidal) inflation of the lungs in patients with various degrees of airway obstructions, IPV eliminates "Preferential Airway Delivery". Step inflation allows the lungs time to accommodate to their accumulating sub tidal inflationary volumes. This rationale is termed "pulmonary conformance" which is a designed form of a "lung protective strategy".