Technical assessment of spirometers connected in series

Respiratory Care
Quentin LefebvreGiuseppe Liistro

Abstract

Office spirometers are now widely used to detect obstructive lung diseases. To test the technical characteristics of these devices, simulation of different forced expiratory maneuvers is performed, using computer generated waveforms. However, the tests with human subjects are also useful to detect technical flaws. The procedure used by some authors to test the accuracy of office spirometers is to compare measurements made by 2 spirometers connected in series. The aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of this latter procedure. Two sets of 2 spirometers connected in series were used: the PocketSpiro with the MicroLoop, and the PocketSpiro with the SpiroScout. Different standard American Thoracic Society curves were selected for both ambient temperature and pressure (ATP) and body temperature and pressure saturated (BTPS) conditions and generated with a waveform simulator. We compared lung function indices (FVC, peak expiratory flow, and FEV(1)) recorded by the PocketSpiro when it was placed respectively upstream or downstream in the assembly. In ATP conditions, lung function indices were generally higher when the spirometer was placed downstream rather than upstream. The observed deviations reached up to 10%. In BTPS con...Continue Reading

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