Understanding About Spirometer, Function and How It Works

Have you ever heard of a device called a Spirometer? Maybe some of you who come from the medical community already know this tool.

Even though you are not from the medical community, there is nothing wrong with knowing about this tool, because this tool is related to lung health.

What is Spirometer

Spirometer  is a tool that serves to measure lung capacity by measuring the volume inhaled and temporarily accommodated in the lungs.

spirometer is an instrument for measuring the flow of air into and out of the lungs and is recorded on a volume per time graph. The function of the spirometer is basically to measure the work of the human lungs.

Understanding About Spirometer, Function and How It Works

This tool measures the ability of the lungs when you breathe in and exhale / exhale. This ability is influenced by the presence of diseases in the lungs such as chronic lung obstruction and asthma.

After you know what a spirometer is, of course you can already guess the function of this tool. This tool is used to measure the function of your lungs.

Actually, the function of this tool is very much so that this hospital tool is one tool that can be a doctor’s partner in providing good lung health services for patients. Here are some of the functions of the Spirometer:

  • Knowing the work function of the lungs, whether the status is normal, restricted, obstructed or mixed
  • Assist doctors in determining the risks of surgical operations
  • We can find out the possibility of disease or abnormalities in the lungs
  • Knowing the benefits of the treatment that has been done
  • To find out the diagnosis of diseases such as asthma, lung disease and others

What conditions require an examination using a spirometer?

There are several health conditions that require examination using this tool, one of which is obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma. In addition, it is used as an initial screening to detect COPD in smokers. A spirometer can help your doctor determine the severity of your lung disease or as a method of assessing your response to treatment.

Spirometer Working Principle

The way this tool works is very easy, usually only used to check individuals or patients with heart disease and of course the lungs.

This spirometer is a gold standard tool used to analyze chronic diseases such as COPD in smokers to asthma.

Understanding About Spirometer, Function and How It Works

How to use the Spirometer

How to use this spirometer must go through some fairly long preparations. Here are some stages of preparation and how to use them:

1. The first thing that needs to be prepared is of course the operator and the spirometer. The operator must have good knowledge and be able to carry out instructions clearly to the patient. While the tools used alone, must always be checked once a week by calibrating the volume and air flow.

2. The patient himself needs adequate preparation before performing the examination. Subjects must have comfort and are certainly not allowed to engage in habits that interfere with checking, such as smoking. Patients can do the test with a spirometer in a standing or sitting position with clothes that are not too tight, and in a normal air temperature.

Spirometer Examination Results

The results of the examination can help diagnose four things, namely:

1. Lungs are normal

The lungs are said to be normal based on the Spirometer test in general depending on the age, lung size and gender of the patient.

2. Obstructive lung

This occurs in conditions where the narrowing of the airways, commonly occurs in conditions of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). If there is a narrowing of the respiratory tract, then the amount of air that can be exhaled quickly will decrease.

3. Restrictive Lungs

It is said to be restrictive lungs when the total value of air that can be exhaled in one full breath is lower than the predicted value for a person’s age, sex, and body size.

4. Combination of obstructive and restrictive lung

This condition occurs when cystic fibrosis in which a lot of mucus collects in the respiratory tract which causes narrowing of the airways and can even cause lung tissue damage.