SPIROMETRY

contents

 Introduction
 Respiratory volumes and capacities
 Dynamic respiratory parameters considered for spirometry
 Obstructive and Restrictive lung diseases
 Spirometer – Water sealed spirometer
– Wedge Spirometer
 Semester questions
Introduction

 Spirometry is a simple test used to help diagnose and monitor certain lung
conditions by measuring how much air you can breathe out in one forced
breath.
 It's carried out using a device called a spirometer, which is a small
machine attached by a cable to a mouthpiece.
 The record obtained from spirometer is called a spirogram.
 RESPIRATORY VOLUMES AND
CAPACITIES

 Tidal volume (TV) : the amount of air that

can be inhaled and exhaled during one
normal (quiet) breathing cycle (about 500
ml for men & women).
 Inspiratory reserve volume (IRV) : the amount of air that can be forcibly inhaled beyond a
tidal inhalation (about 3,000 ml for men & 2,000 ml for women).
 Expiratory reserve volume (ERV) is the amount of air that can be forcibly exhaled beyond
a tidal exhalation (about 1200 ml for men & 700 ml for women).
 Residual Volume (RV) : the amount of air remaining in the lungs after an ERV (= about
1,200 ml in men & women).
Lung capacities
 Inspiratory capacity = TV + IRV
 Functional reserve capacity = ERV + RV
 Vital capacity or forced vital capacity = TV +
IRV + ERV
 Total lung capacity = RV + VC
 DYNAMIC RESPIRATORY PARAMETERS CONSIDERED FOR
SPIROMETRY

 Forced Vital Capacity (FVC): This is the

total amount of air that can be forcibly
expired as quickly as possible after taking
the deepest possible breath.
 Forced Expiratory Volume (FEV): The
percentage of the VC that can be
forced out of the lungs in a given period
with ‘maximal exertion’. This is written as
FEVT where T is usually in seconds.
 OBSTRUCTIVE & RESTRICTIVE
LUNG DISEASE

Abnormalities of the FEV1 and FEV1/FVC are the result of a

decrease in the airflow through the lung, which may be
caused by obstructive lung diseases. Examples of
obstructive diseases are emphysema and asthma.

if the ratio (FEV1)/(FVC) is less than 70%, airway obstruction as in

chronic bronchitis is likely to be present.

Restrictive lung diseases can cause the FVC to be abnormal.

This means that the lung is restricted from filling to its normal
capacity of air. Asbestosis (scarring of the lung due to asbestos
exposure) is an example of a restrictive lung disease.

If the FEV1/FVC is greater than 85%, a so called ‘restrictive’ defect may

be present.
 SPIROMETER

 Spirometer is a biomedical device which measures the lung capacity and lung volume.
Water sealed spirometer
working

 When person breathes into the bell jar though breathing pipe, the volume of
air trapped inside the bell jar changes resulting in vertical motion and
accordingly resulting in vertical motion of the weight attached.
 When a pen is attached to this weight, it draws a graph called Kymograph on
the paper attached to the rotating drum.
 A linear potentiometer can also be connected to the weight, converting the
vertical motion to the electrical signal on display of the instrument.
 The normal spirometer is only capable of responding fully to slow respiratory
rates and not to rapid breathing, sometimes encountered after anaesthesia.
 The spirometer is a mechanical integrator, since the input is air flow and the
output is volume displacement.
Wedge spirometer
 Wedge spirometer

 In this instrument the air to be breathed is held in a chamber enclosed by two parallel metal square pans hinged to each other along
one edge.

 The space existing between the two pans is sealed airtight with vinyl bellows. The bellows is extremely flexible in the direction of pan
motion but it offers high resistance to ‘ballooning’ or inward and outward expansion from the spirometer. As a result, when a pressure
gradient exists between the interior of the wedge and the atmosphere, there will only be a negligible distortion of the bellows.

 One of the pans, which contains an inlet tube, is fixed to a stand and the other swings freely with respect to it.

 As gas enters or leaves the wedge, the moving pan will change position in compensation for this change in volume. The construction
of the wedge is such that the moving pan will respond to very slight changes in volume.

 Volume and flow signals for the wedge are obtained independently from two linear transducers. The transducers are attached to the
fixed frame and are coupled to the edge of the moving pan. One transducer produces a dc signal proportional to displacement
(volume), while the other has a dc output proportional to velocity (flow). The transducer outputs are connected to an electronics unit,
which contains the power supply, an amplifier, and the built-in calibration networks.

 A pointer attached to the moving pan and a scale affixed to the frame, combine to provide a mechanical read out for determining
the approximate volume position of the spirometer.

 A well-designed wedge spirometer imposes an almost undetectable amount of air pressure on the patient's lungs.

 The instrument provides electrical outputs proportional to both volume and airflow, from which the required determinations can be
obtained.
 Semester questions
Question asked Marks Paper

Briefly explain spirometry 6m May 2018

Note on the instrumentation for measuring the mechanics of 8m Dec 2017

breathing

Construction and working of spirometer 6m May 2016

Construction and working of spirometer with diagram 6m May 2014

+
basic lung volumes and capacities which cannot be measured
with a spirometer & why
References

 https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/spirometry/
 https://www.nationaljewish.org/treatment-programs/tests-
procedures/pulmonary-physiology/pulmonary-function/spirometry
 https://www.electrical4u.com/spirometer/
 http://www.worker-health.org/breathingtestresults.html
 https://www.getbodysmart.com/spirometry/lung-volumes-capacities

Textbook:
Biomedical Instrumentation - Technology and Applications - R S Khandpur
THANK
YOU