Artificial external glottic device for passive lung insufflation

Area of Science:

• Respiratory Medicine
• Biomedical Engineering
• Neuromuscular Disorders

Background:

• Air stacking is crucial for lung inflation in neuromuscular disease patients.
• Severe glottic dysfunction or tracheostomies impede effective air stacking.
• A novel device is needed to facilitate deep lung insufflation for these patients.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate an artificial external glottic device (AEGD) for deep lung insufflation.
• To substitute for impaired glottic function in patients with neuromuscular disease.
• To assess the efficacy of AEGD in improving lung volumes.

Main Methods:

• Recruited 37 patients with bulbar-innervated muscle weakness and/or tracheostomies (23 ALS, 14 SCI).
• Utilized an AEGD for passive deep lung insufflation.
• Measured vital capacity, maximum insufflation capacity (MIC), and lung insufflation capacity with AEGD (LICA).

Main Results:

• Initially, 30 patients had zero MIC; AEGD enabled measurable LICA in all (mean 1,622.7±526.8 mL).
• For the 7 patients with measurable MIC, LICA was significantly greater (1,862.9±248 mL) than MIC (1,084.3±259.9 mL).
• AEGD proved effective in achieving measurable and improved lung insufflation capacities.

Conclusions:

• The AEGD successfully facilitates deep lung insufflation.
• It provides greater lung volumes than achievable through conventional air stacking.
• AEGD is a valuable tool for managing respiratory function in specific neuromuscular patient populations.