Project Scope
Non-communicable respiratory diseases are a significant healthcare concern in the developing world. For instance, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is the only leading cause of death that is increasing in prevalence worldwide.1 Affordable diagnostic and monitoring techniques are needed to stop this trend. To address this problem, a spirometer was designed on the basis of a fluidic oscillator. While the physical device is functioning, user-friendly software still needs to be developed.
The fluidic oscillator in the previously designed spirometer outputs sound from which the velocity of the flowing air can be derived. We will design or identify, purchase, and possibly modify a sensor that is able to pick up this audio signal and transduce it to an electrical signal. This sensor will thus need to interface with the existing hardware and a computer.
We will design software that reads an audio signal, processes it, and outputs curves and values that are relevant to spirometry diagnostics. The audio signal input will be sampled at an appropriate frequency and stored in a file format that conserves data and allows direct communication with the designed web interface. This file will be filtered to isolate the dominant frequencies from which flow-volume curves can be calculated. The software will perform these calculations and output the flow-volume curve and other significant expiratory parameters. These parameters will be compared to the predicted values, which can be determined by comparing patient specific information with reference value databases.
The fluidic oscillator in the previously designed spirometer outputs sound from which the velocity of the flowing air can be derived. We will design or identify, purchase, and possibly modify a sensor that is able to pick up this audio signal and transduce it to an electrical signal. This sensor will thus need to interface with the existing hardware and a computer.
We will design software that reads an audio signal, processes it, and outputs curves and values that are relevant to spirometry diagnostics. The audio signal input will be sampled at an appropriate frequency and stored in a file format that conserves data and allows direct communication with the designed web interface. This file will be filtered to isolate the dominant frequencies from which flow-volume curves can be calculated. The software will perform these calculations and output the flow-volume curve and other significant expiratory parameters. These parameters will be compared to the predicted values, which can be determined by comparing patient specific information with reference value databases.