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Concept
Spirometer
Summary
A spirometer is an apparatus for measuring the volume of air inspired and expired by the lungs. A spirometer measures ventilation, the movement of air into and out of the lungs. The spirogram will identify two different types of abnormal ventilation patterns, obstructive and restrictive. There are various types of spirometers that use a number of different methods for measurement (pressure transducers, ultrasonic, water gauge).
Pulmonary function testing
A spirometer is the main piece of equipment used for basic Pulmonary Function Tests (PFTs). Lung diseases such as asthma, bronchitis, and emphysema may be ruled out from the tests. In addition, a spirometer often is used for finding the cause of shortness of breath, assessing the effect of contaminants on lung function, the effect of medication, and evaluating progress for disease treatment.
Diagnose certain types of lung disease (such as COVID-19, bronchitis, and emphysema)
Find the cause of shortness of breath
Measure whether exposure to chemicals at work affects lung function
Check lung function before someone has surgery
Assess the effect of medication
Measure progress in disease treatment
The earliest attempt to measure lung volume can be dated back to the period A.D. 129–200. Claudius Galen, a Roman physician and philosopher, did a volumetric experiment on human ventilation. He had a child breathe in and out of a bladder and found that the volume did not change. The experiment proved inconclusive.
1681, Borelli tried to measure the volume of air inspired in one breath. He assembled a cylindrical tube partially filled with water, with an open water source entering the bottom of the cylinder. He occluded his nostrils, inhaled through an outlet at the top of the cylinder and measured the volume of air displaced by water. Nowadays, this technique is very important in determining parameters of lung volume.
1813, Kentish, E. used a simple "Pulmometer" to study the effect of diseases on pulmonary lung volume.
Official source
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