On the use of a novel air flow transducer in a clinical environment

Extensive calibration of a novel air flow transducer, which mimics a Wells turbine, has led to a mathematical model expressing its linear pressure-flow characteristics over a wide range of flow-rates. The transducer has subsequently been tested as the core component of a pneumotachograph for lung function monitoring on patients at the respiratory clinic of a partnering hospital. The results collected and their comparison to those obtained from existing devices have demonstrated excellent suitability of the transducer to the measurement of flows in the range encountered in human respiration, and possibly to other application areas.