TECHNIQUE TO CHARACTERIZE PROXIMAL AND PERIPHERAL NITRIC OXIDE EXCHANGE USING CONSTANT FLOW EXHALATIONS AND AN AXIAL DIFFUSION MODEL

摘要

An apparatus and method to characterize NO gas exchange dynamics in human lungs, including performing a plurality of breathing maneuvers of substantially constant flow rates within a predetermined range, measuring data relating to at least one of an NO concentration and an NO elimination rate as a function of exhaled volume or exhalation flow rate, applying a lung model to the measured data, and obtaining at least one parameter indicative of disease states of the lung based on the lung model and the measured data, wherein the lung model, when applied in the predetermined range, predicts a substantially linear relationship between the NO elimination rate and the exhalation flow rate.