Dual assessment of airway area profile and respiratory input impedance from a single transient wave

This report concerns the inference of geometric and mechanical airway characteristics based on information derived from a single transient planar wave recorded at the airway opening. We describe a new method to simultaneously measure upper airway area and respiratory input impedance by performing dual analysis of a single pressure wave. The algorithms required to reconstruct airway dimensions and mechanical characteristics were developed, implemented, and tested with reference to known physical models. Our method appears suitable to estimate, even under severe intensive care unit conditions, the respiratory system frequency response (above 10 Hz) in intubated patients and the patency of the endotracheal tube used to connect the patients to the ventilator.