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Spatial Distribution of Human Respiratory System Transfer Impedance

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Abstract

Transfer impedance (Z tr) of the respiratory system provides specific information on airways and tissues, but little is known about its spatial distribution in the different thoracoabdominal regions. To study Z tr distribution on the chest wall surface we analyzed five healthy subjects in the supine position by applying a sinusoidal forcing pressure (4, 8, and 12 Hz) at the mouth and measuring airway opening pressure and flow. Three-dimensional positions of 68 reflective markers placed on the chest wall over selected reference points were simultaneously measured by an optoelectronic motion analyzer. A subset of ten points placed on the midline were used to measure chest wall movements in the craniocaudal direction. While the motion of rib cage markers was synchronous, the abdominal markers demonstrated surface waves propagating caudally. The amplitude and phase of these waves were strongly dependent on position and frequency. We used a new method to measure total and local chest wall volume variations to compute the distribution of Z tr over the chest wall. Above 4 Hz we found that Z tr was inhomogeneously distributed and strongly dependent on position and frequency, mainly in the abdomen where the phase was often ≫180° with high values of modulus. For this reason, we conclude that above 8 Hz Z tr represents rib cage mechanics almost exclusively. © 2003 Biomedical Engineering Society.

PAC2003: 8719Uv, 8780-y

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Bioingegneria, Politecnico di Milano, Italy

    R. L. Dellacà, A. Aliverti & A. Pedotti

  2. Centro di Bioingegneria, Fondazione Don Gnocchi IRCCS e Politecnico di Milano, Italy

    R. L. Dellacà, A. Aliverti & A. Pedotti

  3. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA

    K. R. Lutchen

Authors
  1. R. L. Dellacà
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  2. A. Aliverti
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  3. K. R. Lutchen
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  4. A. Pedotti
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Dellacà, R.L., Aliverti, A., Lutchen, K.R. et al. Spatial Distribution of Human Respiratory System Transfer Impedance. Annals of Biomedical Engineering 31, 121–131 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1114/1.1541012

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