A portable triboelectric spirometer for wireless pulmonary function monitoring

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Respiratory Medicine
• Wearable Technology

Background:

• COVID-19 can cause lasting respiratory damage, requiring long-term pulmonary function monitoring.
• Existing spirometers may not be ideal for convenient, continuous home-based rehabilitation assessment.
• Portable monitoring solutions are needed to track lung function recovery post-COVID-19.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a wireless, portable pulmonary function monitor for COVID-19 rehabilitation.
• To create a low-cost, user-friendly device for home-based monitoring of lung function.
• To assess the accuracy and reliability of the developed spirometer compared to commercial devices.

Main Methods:

• Designed a portable monitor integrating a breath-to-electrical (BTE) sensor, signal processing, and Bluetooth communication.
• The BTE sensor converts respiratory motion into electrical signals with high stability across varying humidity levels.
• Developed a system to wirelessly transmit data to a mobile terminal for processing into key pulmonary parameters like FEV1 and FVC.

Main Results:

• The BTE sensor demonstrated signal stability greater than 93% under 35%-81% humidity.
• The portable spirometer achieved high accuracy (>97%) in measuring pulmonary function parameters (FEV1, FVC) compared to a commercial device.
• The system successfully processed respiratory signals into clinically relevant physiological parameters for pulmonary evaluation.

Conclusions:

• The proposed wireless, portable spirometer is a practical, low-cost solution for monitoring pulmonary function during COVID-19 recovery.
• This device facilitates convenient home-based assessment, supporting long-term rehabilitation and supervision.
• The technology offers a significant advancement in managing post-COVID-19 respiratory health.