Design, Development and Clinical Testing of Spirometer

Abstract

Spirometers are used to measure lung capacity and response of lungs and chest during physical therapy. Current spirometers available in the market are expensive and usually cost over $1,000. Due to this high cost, many physicians practicing in developing countries like India, cannot afford spirometry equipment. As a result, millions of people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, are unable to be effectively monitored or treated for their disease. Thus, the development of a low cost reliable spirometer would allow these physicians to assess their patient's pulmonary health. All these factors led to the development of a product which addresses cost issues as well as technical accuracy[1]. A computer-based miniaturized spirometer system is Designed to be realized which would use a solid state pressure sensor. A prototype of a Computer based Spirometer system has been realized which would employ a solid state single port pressure sensor. A dedicated analog signal acquisition and processing channel has been designed and tested along with the solid-state pressure sensor. Calibration of pressure sensor for known values of applied pressure has been performed for linearity tests. The MSP430 is employed in designing the micro-controller firmware program (using Code Composer Studio) for digitization and transmission of the signal to the computer. Dedicated computer software for data acquisition, display and analysis was developed in CVI LabWindows platform.