Development and Evaluation of an Improved Technique for Pulmonary Function Testing Using Electrical Impedance Pneumography Intended for the Diagnosis of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Patients

Sensors

Myeong Heon Sim³  Min Yong Kim³  In Cheol Jeong²  Sung Bin Park³  Suk Joong Yong¹  Won Ky Kim³ 

[1] Department of Pulmonology, Wonju College of Medicine, Yonsei University, Wonju 220701, Korea; E-Mail:;Chronic Disease Informatics Program, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA; E-Mail:;Biomedical Engineering Research Group, Yonsei University, Wonju 220710, Korea; E-Mails:

关键词: spirometry;    pulmonary function test;    chronic obstructive pulmonary disease;    impedance technique;    both hands;   

DOI  :  10.3390/s131115846

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Spirometry is regarded as the only effective method for detecting pulmonary function test (PFT) indices. In this study, a novel impedance pulmonary function measurement system (IPFS) is developed for directly assessing PFT indices. IPFS can obtain high resolution values and remove motion artifacts through real-time base impedance feedback. Feedback enables the detection of PFT indices using only both hands for convenience. IPFS showed no differences in the sitting, supine, and standing postures during the measurements, indicating that patient posture has no effect on IPFS. Mean distance analysis showed good agreement between the volume and flow signal of IPFS (p < 0.05). PFT indices were detected in subjects to differentiate a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patient group from a normal group. The forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV₁), FEV_1/FVC, and peak expiratory flow (PEF) in the COPD group were lower than those in the normal group by IPFS (p < 0.05). IPFS is therefore suitable for evaluating pulmonary function in normal and COPD patients. Moreover, IPFS could be useful for periodic monitoring of existing patients diagnosed with obstructive lung disease.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2013 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.