The University of Texas System

Edgar R Lucas

John R Burk

Khosrow Behbehani

Fu-Chung Yen

A pressurized breathable gas, preferably air, is supplied to the patient's airways with an interface including a mask and a flexible hose. A selected oscillation component or forced probing signal is applied or superposed on the pressurized breathable gas, preferably with a loudspeaker coupled to a frequency generator. Pressure and flow of the breathable gas in the interface are measured or sampled, preferably using pressure transducers and a pneumotachometer coupled to a personal computer, to obtain pressure and flow data characteristic of the patient's airway. The pressure and flow data are converted to the frequency domain using Fourier transform or cross-power spectrum techniques in the personal computer. A function of the processed pressure and flow data is obtained to determine an index of airway impedance or degree of airway obstruction.

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Fort Worth, TX, United States of America

Edgar R Lucas