Portable spirometer and method for monitoring lung function

Abstract

A spirometer comprises a housing defining a fluid flow pathway extending between a first end and a second end, a first opening along the pathway and a second opening longitudinally spaced along the pathway from the first opening. A flow chamber defining a fluid flow pathway is disposed within the housing between the first opening and the second opening, the flow chamber including an elongated resistive element along the central longitudinal axis of the flow chamber for defining a flow passage through the flow chamber between the resistive element and the inner surface of the flow chamber. Theflow chamber conditions fluid flow for accurate sensing of the fluid flow over a range. A pressure sensor is disposed within the housing in fluid communication with the first opening and the second opening for sensing a pressure differential between the first opening and the second opening and producing an electric signal that corresponds with the rate of fluid flow through the housing. The described spirometer and associated software has a variety of applications in the evaluation, diagnosis, monitoring, and improvement of respiratory conditions as well as digitally-delivered respiratory rehabilitation programs and clinical trials.

Description

[0001] cross reference [0002] This application is related to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62 / 383,893, filed September 6, 2016, U.S. Provisional Application No. 62 / 533,361, filed July 17, 2017, U.S. Provisional Application No. 62 / 533,368, filed July 17, 2017 , U.S. Provisional Application No. 62 / 534,462, filed July 19, 2017, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 62 / 554,266, filed September 5, 2017. The contents of these provisional applications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety, and the benefit of the filing date of these provisional applications is hereby claimed for all purposes for which such claim for benefit of the filing date would legitimately serve. technical field [0003] The present invention relates to a spirometer, and more particularly, to a portable spirometer having multiple concentric air flow tubes for detecting and diagnosing lung conditions and including a wireless connection to a mobile device for The data is transmitted to other ...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

[0009] Conventional spirometers also have some disadvantages, including that some designs do not measure flow equally and accurately over the entire dynamic flow range or do not stratify high flows well

Furthermore, designs that approach such linear transduction are often plagued by high cost or physically large size, precluding the opportunity for individuals to purchase or carry them with them for use when they are most needed

From a human factors standpoint, other equipment designs suffer from the inclusion of moving or inaccessible parts that can affect cleanliness, equipment hygiene and ultimately reduce measurement accuracy due to wear and clogging

Additionally, many of these traditional benchtop spirometers cannot be converted to smaller form factors due to the presence of very high flow rates (up to 840 L / min) through narrow pathways conforming to the average mouth size (scaled in centimeters) induced turbulence

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