An Alternative Approach to the Monitoring of Respiration by Dynamic Air-Pressure Sensor

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An Alternative Approach to the Monitoring of Respiration by Dynamic Air-Pressure Sensor
Anesthesia Progress
Volume 54, Issue 1 (Spring 2007)

Tohru Takarada, DDS, PhD*, Michio Kawahara, MD, PhD*, Masahiro Irifune, DDS, PhD*, Chie Endo, DDS‹, Yoshitaka Shimizu, DDS*, Keiko Kobayashi, DDS‹, Keiko Sakata, DDS‹, Nobuhito Kikuchi, DDS*, Takuya Saida, DDS*, Chiori Onizuka, DDS*
* Department of Dental Anesthesiology, Division of Clinical Medical Science, Programs for Applied Biomedicine, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Hiroshima University
‹ Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Reconstructive Surgery (Clinic of Dental Anesthesia), Hiroshima University Dental Hospital, Hiroshima, Japan

Monitoring and assessing of patient respiratory function during conscious sedation are important because many drugs used for conscious sedation produce respiratory depression and subsequent hypoventilation. The purpose of this study is to assess the value of a dynamic air-pressure sensor for respiratory monitoring of clothed patients. Eight clothed adult volunteers were reclined on a dental chair positioned horizontally. The air bag for measuring air-pressure signals corresponding to respiration was placed on the seat back of the dental chair in the central lumbar area of the subject. The subject breathed through a face mask with a respirometer attached for measuring expiratory tidal volume. The air-pressure signals corresponding to respiration were obtained and the time integration values for air pressure during each expiration (Pexp) were calculated. The expiratory tidal volume (TVexp) was measured simultaneously by respirometer. The relationship between TVexp and Pexp for each subject was assessed by a Pearson correlation coefficient. A strong correlation between TVexp and Pexp was observed in all subjects. Measuring Pexp by dynamic air-pressure sensor makes it possible to estimate respiratory volume breath by breath, and the respiratory pressureŇtime integral waveform was useful in visually monitoring the respiration pattern. We believe that in the future this device will be used to monitor respiratory physiology in clothed patients, contributing to safer sedative procedures.

Keywords: Air-pressure sensor, Respiratory, Monitor, Nonrestrictively

Received: March 20, 2006; Accepted: September 12, 2006

DOI: 10.2344/0003-3006(2007)54[2:AAATTM]2.0.CO;2

Address correspondence to Dr Tohru Takarada, Department of Dental Anesthesiology, Division of Clinical Medical Science, Programs for Applied Biomedicine, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Hiroshima University, 1-2-3, Kasumi-cho, Minami-ku, Hiroshima 734-8553, Japan; takarada@hiroshima-u.ac.jp.

© 2007 The American Dental Society of Anesthesiology