PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - J. Rigau
AU  - R. Farré
AU  - J. Roca
AU  - S. Marco
AU  - A. Herms
AU  - D. Navajas
TI  - A portable forced oscillation device for respiratory home monitoring
AID  - 10.1183/09031936.02.00642001
DP  - 2002 Jan 01
TA  - European Respiratory Journal
PG  - 146--150
VI  - 19
IP  - 1
4099  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/19/1/146.short
4100  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/19/1/146.full
SO  - Eur Respir J2002 Jan 01; 19
AB  - The increase in the prevalence of chronic respiratory diseases has resulted in a rise in health services provided at home. The forced oscillation technique (FOT) proves to be a useful tool when it is desired to assess lung function noninvasively, and particularly for patients in whom spirometry cannot be applied. As no portable FOT device is currently available, the aim of this study was to design and test a portable FOT system for ambulatory and home care applications. The system devised is based on a microprocessor, which allows online computation of respiratory resistance (Rrs) and reactance (Xrs) and reliability indices. The portable device was compared with a conventional FOT system by using signals from 14 patients with chronic respiratory disease. This device has the same computation capabilities and flexibility as conventional FOT systems and meets the requirements for home application. Rrs (14.2±6.0 cmH2O·s·L−1, mean±sd) and Xrs (−5.3±2.7 cmH2O·s·L−1) measured at 5 Hz by the portable system virtually coincided with those computed with the reference conventional FOT system: mean differences±sd were 0.074±0.025 and 0.005±0.009 cmH2O·s·L−1, respectively. This portable forced oscillation technique device could be a useful tool for monitoring respiratory mechanics in ambulatory and home care applications. This work was supported in part by Comisión Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnología (CICYT, SAF99-0001), by Dirección General de Enseñanza Superior e Investigación Científica (DGESIC, PM98-0027) and by the European Commission (CHRONIC, V Programme, IST_DG XIII, 1999-12158).