SOUND-BASED SPIROMETRIC DEVICES, SYSTEMS AND METHODS

• US 20150126888A1
• Filed: 05/10/2013
• Published: 05/07/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/10/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: University of Washington
• Original Assignee: University of Washington
• Inventors: Patel, Shwetak N, Larson, Eric C., Goel, Mayank
• Granted Patent: US 10,028,675 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/538
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/0204 Acoustic sensors
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0022 Monitoring a patient using a global network, e.g. telephone networks, internet
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0803 Recording apparatus specially adapted therefor
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/087 Measuring breath flow
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0871 Peak expiratory flowmeters
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/091 Measuring volume of inspired or expired gases, e.g. to determine lung capacity
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/097 Devices for facilitating collection of breath or for directing breath into or through measuring devices
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6898 Portable consumer electronic devices, e.g. music players, telephones, tablet computers
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7203 for noise prevention, reduction or removal
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7253 characterised by using transforms
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 50/30 for calculating health indices; for individual health risk assessment

Abstract

Devices, system, and methods generate expiratory flow-based pulmonary function data by processing a digital audio file of sound of a subject'"'"'s forced expiratory maneuver. A mobile device configured to generate expiratory flow-based pulmonary function data includes a microphone, a processor, and a data storage device. The microphone is operable to convert sound of the subject'"'"'s forced expiratory maneuver into a digital data file. The processor is operatively coupled with the microphone. The data storage device is operatively coupled with the processor and stores instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to process the digital data file to generate expiratory flow-based pulmonary function data for assessing pulmonary function of the subject. The sound of the subject'"'"'s forced expiratory maneuver can be converted into the digital data file without contact between the subject'"'"'s mouth and the mobile device.

Claims

1. A mobile device configured to generate expiratory flow-based pulmonary function data, the device comprising:

a microphone operable to convert sound of a subject'"'"'s forced expiratory maneuver into a digital data file; and

a processor operatively coupled with the microphone; and

a data storage device operatively coupled with the processor and storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to process the digital data file to generate expiratory flow-based pulmonary function data for assessing pulmonary function of the subject.

2. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the sound of the subject'"'"'s forced expiratory maneuver is converted into the digital data file without contact between the subject'"'"'s mouth and the mobile device.

3. The mobile device of claim 2, wherein the subject exhales through a mouthpiece during the subject'"'"'s forced expiratory maneuver and the sound of the subject'"'"'s forced expiratory maneuver is converted into the digital data file without contact between the mouthpiece and the mobile device.

4. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the expiratory flow-based pulmonary function data includes at least one expiratory flow-based pulmonary function assessment parameter selected from the group consisting of:

(1) Forced Vital Capacity (FVC), (2) Forced Expiratory Volume in one second (FEV₁), (3) FEV₁/FVC, (4) Peak Expiratory Flow (PEF), and (5) Forced Expiratory Flow between 25% and 75% of FVC (FEF(25-75)).

5. The mobile device of claim 4, wherein the expiratory flow-based pulmonary function data includes at least one expiratory flow-based pulmonary function assessment metric that is based on at least one of the group consisting of:

(1) FVC, (2) FEV₁, (3) PEF, and (4) FEF(25-75).

6. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the expiratory flow-based pulmonary function data includes at least one expiratory flow-based pulmonary function assessment relationship selected from the group consisting of:

(1) Flow vs. Time (FT), (2) Volume vs. Time (VT), and (3) Flow vs. Volume (FV).

7. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein processing the digital data file includes modeling and removing superfluous sound generated by airflow of the forced expiratory maneuver.

8. The mobile device of claim 7, wherein the superfluous sound is generated by airflow of the forced expiratory maneuver through at least one of the group consisting of:

(1) the subject'"'"'s vocal tract, (2) the subject'"'"'s mouth, and (3) the subject'"'"'s surrounding environment.

9. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein processing the digital data file includes isolating at least one sound related to airflow of the forced expiratory maneuver and assessing intensity of the isolated at least one sound.

10. The mobile device of claim 9, wherein the isolated at least one sound includes sound from at least one of the group consisting of:

(1) wind shear, (2) vocal tract resonances, (3) wheezes, and (4) nasal resonances.

11. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein processing the digital data file includes at least one of the group consisting of:

(1) compensating for estimated pressure losses sustained over a distance between the subject and the microphone, and (2) compensating for at least one of reverberations and reflections of sound of the forced expiratory maneuver.

12. The mobile device of claim 11, wherein processing the digital data file includes using inverse radiation modeling to at least one of the group consisting of:

(1) compensate for estimated pressure losses sustained over a distance between the subject and the microphone, and (2) compensate for at least one of reverberations and reflections of sound of the forced expiratory maneuver.

13. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein processing the digital data file includes removing the effects of AC-coupling by using at least one of the group consisting of:

(1) signal power, (2) frequency characteristics, and (3) models of the subject'"'"'s vocal tract.

14. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein processing the digital data file includes removing non-linearity by combining at least two flow approximations based on the digital data file.

15. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein processing the digital data file includes using a global model that is based on a plurality of digital data files of sound recorded during different forced expiratory maneuvers.

16. The mobile device of claim 15, wherein processing the digital data file includes generating Peak Expiratory Flow (PEF) by using a global model of PEF rates of different expiratory maneuvers.

17. The mobile device of claim 15, wherein processing the digital data file includes generating Forced Vital Capacity (FVC) by using a global model of FVC values of different expiratory maneuvers.

18. The mobile device of claim 15, wherein processing the digital data file includes generating Forced Expiratory Volume in one second (FEV₁) by using a global model of FEV₁ values of different expiratory maneuvers.

19. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein processing the digital data file includes calculating flow volume expelled through the subject'"'"'s mouth by estimating flow velocity through the subject'"'"'s mouth and flow area of the subject'"'"'s mouth.

20. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein processing the digital data file includes using a personalized model for a particular subject that is created by calibrating the expiratory flow-based pulmonary function data generated by the mobile device for the particular subject relative to expiratory flow-based pulmonary function data for the particular subject that is generated by another device.

21. A method of generating expiratory flow-based pulmonary function data, the method comprising:

receiving a digital data file of sound of a subject'"'"'s forced expiratory maneuver; and

processing the digital data file to generate expiratory flow-based pulmonary function data for assessing pulmonary function of the subject.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the expiratory flow-based pulmonary function data includes at least one expiratory flow-based pulmonary function assessment parameter selected from the group consisting of:

(1) Forced Vital Capacity (FVC), (2) Forced Expiratory Volume in one second (FEV₁), (3) FEV₁/FVC, (4) Peak Expiratory Flow (PEF), and (5) Forced Expiratory Flow between 25% and 75% of FVC (FEF(25-75)).

23. The method of claim 21, wherein the expiratory flow-based pulmonary function data includes at least one expiratory flow-based pulmonary function assessment relationship selected from the group consisting of:

(1) Flow vs. Time (FT), (2) Volume vs. Time (VT), and (3) Flow vs. Volume (FV).

24. A system for remotely generating expiratory flow-based pulmonary function data, the system comprising:

a server communicatively coupled with a communication network, the server including a processor and a data storage device operatively coupled with the processor and storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to process a digital data file of sound generated by a subject'"'"'s forced expiratory maneuver, the digital data file being received by the server via the communication network, the digital data file being processed to generate expiratory flow-based pulmonary function data for assessing pulmonary function of the subject.

25. The system of claim 24, wherein the expiratory flow-based pulmonary function data includes at least one expiratory flow-based pulmonary function assessment parameter selected from the group consisting of:

(1) Forced Vital Capacity (FVC), (2) Forced Expiratory Volume in one second (FEV₁), (3) FEV₁/FVC, (4) Peak Expiratory Flow (PEF), and (5) Forced Expiratory Flow between 25% and 75% of FVC (FEF(25-75)).

26. The system of claim 24, wherein the expiratory flow-based pulmonary function data includes at least one expiratory flow-based pulmonary function assessment relationship selected from the group consisting of:

(1) Flow vs. Time (FT), (2) Volume vs. Time (VT), and (3) Flow vs. Volume (FV).

27. The system of claim 24, wherein the expiratory flow-based pulmonary function data is transmitted over the communication network to a remote device for display on the remote device.

28. The system of claim 24, wherein the expiratory flow-based pulmonary function data is viewed via a website.