Correlation of Breath Sounds with Diagnoses of Lung Dysfunction: Experimental Observations

Abstract

An investigation has been undertaken to determine whether there is any correlation between the spectral analyses of breath sounds at the mouth and the diagnosis of lung dysfunction in a small number of patients. The results of the investigation have shown that it is possible to differentiate between the spectral characteristics of the breath sounds of people who are: normal; asthmatic adult, both before and after the administration of a bronchodilator drug; asthmatic adult, treated with an inhaled steroid, both before and after the administration of a bronchodilator drug; asthmatic child, both before and after the administration of a bronchodilator drug. The possible applications of the technique are discussed.