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A New Modality Using Breath Sound Analysis to Evaluate the Control Level of Asthma
Chizu Habukawa1, Katsumi Murakami2, Noriaki Horii3
1Department of Pediatrics, Minami Wakayama Medical Center, Wakayama.
Insights
A new breath sound analysis technology accurately assesses asthma control in children. The breath sound index (BSI) shows high sensitivity and specificity for differentiating asthma control levels.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Pulmonology
- Biomedical Engineering
- Respiratory Medicine
Background:
- Reliable symptom assessment is crucial for effective asthma management in children.
- New technology for analyzing breath sounds was developed to aid in monitoring pediatric asthma.
- This study evaluates the clinical utility of this novel breath sound analysis technology.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the clinical usefulness of a new breath sound analysis technology for monitoring asthma control in children.
- To determine if a novel breath sound index (BSI) can better differentiate asthma control compared to existing sound parameters.
- To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of BSI for asthma control.
Main Methods:
- Breath sounds were recorded from 80 asthmatic and 59 non-asthmatic children using chest and tracheal sensors.
- Acoustic transfer characteristics were calculated to derive the chest wall sound index (CWI) and tracheal sound index (TRI).
- A new breath sound index (BSI) was developed using CWI and TRI to assess asthma control.
Main Results:
- Significant differences in TRI and BSI were observed between asthmatic and non-asthmatic children (p < 0.001).
- CWI and TRI differed significantly between well-controlled and not-well-controlled asthma groups (p < 0.001).
- BSI demonstrated high accuracy in discriminating asthma control levels, with 83.6% sensitivity and 84.2% specificity.
Conclusions:
- A novel breath sound index (BSI) derived from breath sound analysis can effectively evaluate asthma control in children.
- This technology offers a promising, objective method for monitoring pediatric asthma.
- Breath sound analysis provides a valuable tool for assessing asthma control status.
Background:
Reliable symptom assessment is essential in asthma management. We developed new technology for analyzing breath sounds and assessed its clinical usefulness for monitoring asthmatic children.
Methods:
Eighty asthmatic children and 59 non-asthmatic children underwent breath sound analysis in an asymptomatic state. Their asthma control was assessed by the Asthma Control TestTM or Childhood ACTTM scores and divided into two groups, namely, well-controlled (perfect) (n = 19) and not well-controlled (not perfect) (n = 61). Breath sounds were recorded using two sensors, located on the right anterior chest and trachea. We calculated the acoustic transfer characteristics between the two points, which indicated the relationship between frequencies and attenuation during breath sound propagation. Two indices of sound parameters, the chest wall sound index (CWI) and the tracheal sound index (TRI), were calculated from the transfer characteristics and tracheal sounds. We also developed a new parameter, the breath sound index (BSI), on a 2-dimensional diagram of CWI and TRI and tried to determine whether BSI may clarify asthma control better than CWI or TRI alone.
Results:
There was a significant difference in TRI and BSI between asthmatic and non-asthmatic children (p = 0.007, p < 0.001). There was a significant difference in CWI and TRI between the well-controlled and not-wellcontrolled groups (p < 0.001). BSI discriminated between the two groups accurately (p < 0.001). The sensitivity and specificity of BSI for asthma control were 83.6% and 84.2%, respectively.
Conclusions:
Asthma control could be evaluated using a new index calculated from breath sound analysis.
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