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Point-of-Care Ultrasound: A Review of Ultrasound Parameters for Predicting Difficult Airways
Published on: April 7, 2023
Acoustic properties of the normal chest
F Dalmay1, M T Antonini, P Marquet
1Laboratoire de Physiologie, Faculté de Médecine, Limoges, France.
The European Respiratory Journal
|October 1, 1995
Summary
Modern stethoscopes enable objective lung sound analysis. Research is clarifying vesicular lung sound origins, paving the way for advanced patient monitoring and automated diagnosis.
Area of Science:
- Pulmonology
- Biomedical Engineering
- Acoustics
Background:
- The stethoscope, invented in 1816, revolutionized auscultation.
- Modern advancements in recording and signal processing since the 1950s allow objective lung sound analysis in time and frequency domains.
Observation:
- Tracheobronchial sounds, originating in upper airways, possess higher frequencies than vesicular lung sounds.
- Consolidated lungs enhance sound conduction to the chest wall, creating bronchial breathing murmurs.
Findings:
- The origin of vesicular lung sounds is increasingly understood to be local, deep, and possibly intralobular.
- Further research is needed to fully elucidate mechanisms of vesicular lung sound generation, including gas redistribution and lung tissue stretching vibrations.
Implications:
- Current devices aid in monitoring intensive care patients.
- Future developments promise real-time analysis and automated diagnosis for respiratory conditions.
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