International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research, Volume 6, Issue 6, June-2015 1173

ISSN 2229-5518

Development of GUI for Spirometer and

Calculation of different Spirometric Parameters
Isha G. Sodhi, Aparna Lakhe, Jyothi Warrier, Rajesh Kumar Jain, Vineet Sinha
Abstract— Spirometery is the fundamental of Pulmonary Function Test that is used to diagnose various respiratory diseases. The
inference of the disease is based on various Spirometric parameters that are derived from Volume-Time and Flow-Volume Curves. The aim
of this work is to develop a Graphical User Interface (GUI) displaying Spirometric graphs and calculate important Spirometric parameters
that depend on the type of the pneumotachometer used. The paper also presents a comparison between the developed spirometer and a
reference spirometer.

Index Terms— GUI, Forced Vital Capacity (FVC), Flow-Volume Loop, Pneumotachometer, Spirometer, Volume-Time Graph

——————————  ——————————

1 INTRODUCTION

S PIROMETER is a device that measures the volume and

the flow rate of air that is inhaled and exhaled from the
components and in-built commands which aids the program-
mer to develop an easy to use graphical user-interface (GUI).

lungs. It measures the breath as a function of time. The im-

portance of spirometry in Pulmonary Function Tests (PFTs) is
gaining importance as it indicates the presence of a variety of
pulmonary diseases like Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Dis-

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order (COPD), asthma, restrictive diseases etc.

Flow rate and volume are measured by connecting a spi-

rometry sensor through a mouthpiece to the subject’s
mouth[1]. These are then used to calculate the spirometric pa-
rameters like Forced Vital Capacity (FVC), Forced Expiratory
Volume in 1 second (FEV1), ratio of FEV1 to FVC (FEV1%),
peak expiratory flow (PEF) and forced expiratory flow at 25–
75% of FVC (FEF25–75). These spirometric parameters form Fig. 1: Spirometry Curves, (a) Volume-Time Curve (b) Flow-
the basis of the diagnosis and treatment of lung disorders. The Volume Loop
basic output of the spirometer is represented in two graphical
waveforms (Fig. 1); one being the graph of volume v/s time 2 SYSTEM DESIGN
and other flow v/s volume.
The hardware designed at Electronics Division of Bhabha
As seen in fig. 1, graphical representation of the flow rates Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Mumbai is based on a differ-
and volume is the most important requirement of a spirome- ential pressure approach. It uses a differential pressure sensor
ter. Thus, a user interface must be designed to express the MPXV 2010DP, the output of which is fed to the ADC of the
measured flow rates and volumes in a graphical form. This microcontroller. These ADC values are wirelessly transferred
makes it easy for the practitioner/doctor to interpret the result to the computer via Bluetooth. Indigenously designed PVC
of the test performed. In this work, importance is given to the pipe is used as a mouthpiece for inhalation and exhalation of
development of software for spirometer. The software used in air. Lilly type pneumotachometer which is fitted in the pipe
this work is a proven ANSI C integrated development envi- creates a differential pressure due to the mesh present be-
ronment (IDE). It provides a GUI builder with engineering tween the two sensing points.

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• Isha G. Sodhi is currently pursuing masters degree program in biomedical
engineering in MGM College of Engineering & Technology, Mumbai Univer-
sity, India.
• Aparna Lakhe is currently pursuing masters degree program in biomedical
engineering in MGM College of Engineering & Technology, Mumbai Univer-
sity, India.
• Jyothi Warrier is working as Assistant Professor in biomedical engineering
department, MGM College of Engineering & Technology, Mumbai Universi-
ty, India
• Rajesh Kumar Jain is working as Scientific Officer, Electronics Division,
Bhabha Atomic Research Center, Mumbai, India Fig. 2: Block diagram of the Spirometer developed at BARC, Mumbai
• Vineet Sinha is working as Scientific Officer, Electronics Division, Bhabha IJSER © 2015
Atomic Research Center, Mumbai, India. http://www.ijser.org
 International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research, Volume 6, Issue 6, June-2015 1174
ISSN 2229-5518
Flow rate is the product of the flow velocity and the cross-
sectional area through which the fluid flows. From the calcu-
Analysis of the signal developed by this spirometer re- lated value of velocity, the flow-rate can be calculated by us-
quired that the basic GUI should be developed first. Thus the ing (2) as given in [2].
initial step was to create a basic user interface (UI) as shown in (2)
Fig. 3. It incorporates the essential options that are listed as
follows: Where: A = Area of cross-section of mesh used in m3.
1. Button to establish connection with Bluetooth
2. Button to Start and Stop the acquisition Integral of the Flow-rate over the time of flow gives the to-
3. Button to Save and Load the acquired data tal volume of the fluid. Thus volume can be calculated using
4. Save and Displays patient’s demographics, current (3) as given in [2].
date & time
5. Graph to display the acquired signal t2

6. Graph scaling buttons =

V ∫ F ⋅ dt
t1 (3)
Once the basic UI is designed; the next step is to start the
analysis of the signal by converting the measured pressure
signal into desired flow rate and volume values. 3.2 Derivation of Pressure equation from ADC output
The differential pressure sensed by the sensor is converted
to the corresponding voltage by the Instrumentation Amplifi-
er. This voltage signal is given to the ADC input of the Micro-
controller, which converts the analog input to digital values.
The microcontroller sends the data to the PC in the form of

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these digital values which then needs to be calibrated in order
to derive corresponding pressure.
The idea was to provide the sensor with known pressure

TABLE 1
PRESSURE & ADC VALUES US-
ING
SPHYGMOMANOMETER
Measured
Pressure
(mmHg)- ADC reading –

Y axis X axis
-60 5
-50 25
-40 45
Fig. 3: Basic User Interface: Developed at initial stage to record the raw signal. -30 63
Graph displays ADC values on Y-axis and Sample Count on X-axis
-20 84
-10 105
3 ANALYSIS OF SPIROMETER SIGNAL
10 150
3.1 Principle of Differential pressure based Spirometer 20 172
The dynamic pressure is dimensionally referred to as the 30 193
change in kinetic energy per unit volume. Once the dynamic
pressure is extracted from the sensor the Velocity of flow can 40 213
be determined using (1) as given in [2]. 50 235
60 253
1
P= ρν 2
2 (1) values and note down the corresponding ADC values. Twelve
readings are recorded from sphygmomanometer, six in posi-
tive port of sensor and remaining in negative port of sensor.
Where: ρ = Density of Air at 300o K in kg/m3
These readings are used to formulate an equation for pressure
ν = Velocity of flow of the fluid in m/s
using MiniTab software. The readings and the corresponding
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International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research, Volume 6, Issue 6, June-2015 1175
ISSN 2229-5518
equations are as shown in Table 1 and in fig. 4 respectively. minium mesh was placed between two straight pipes. The
diameter of each hole in the mesh is kept at 3.5mm with a
cross sectional area of around 0.67 x 10-4 m2. Resistance offered
by this pneumotachometer was approximately 10Pa/L/s.
a) b)

Fig. 4: Plot of ADC values v/s Pressure in mmHg

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The differential pressure w.r.t atmospheric pressure is Fig. 5: a) Pneumotachometer with change in tube diameter
sensed by the sensor. The ADC values are plotted on the X- b) Pneumotachometer without change in tube diameter
axis and the Pressure values are plotted on the Y-axis. Regres-
sion equation (4) achieved is used to calculate pressure: 3.4 Spirometric parameters
y = 0.476x – 61.21, (4) Commercial spirometers provide different options for the type
where, y= pressure in mmHg and x= ADC values of tests to be performed, like forced spirometry test, slow spi-
rometery test, maximum ventilation test etc. In this work the
The value of Pressure obtained in (4) is substituted in (1). focus is to develop a spirometer that conducts forced spirome-
After adjusting the units in standard form, the velocity was try test. It involves the test in which the patient is advised to
obtained in m/s. Subsequently value of velocity is substiti- inhale to its full capacity and then forcefully exhale to its full
uted in (2) and is used to calculate the flow rate. The area con- capacity. Total 17 parameters are calculated based on their
sidered is the cross sectional area of the mesh inserted in the definitions. These parameters are calculated from the volume
pneumotachometer. Finally the volume is calculated by inte- and flow values obtained in the analysis part. List of calculat-
grating the flow rate with time. ed parameters:
1. Forced Vital Capacity (FVC)
3.3 Pneumotachometer 2. Forced Expiratory Volume in 1 sec (FEV1)
Type, size and shape of the pneumotachometer being used are 3. Forced Expiratory Volume in 1 sec (FEV3)
of great importance. In this work three different pneumota- 4. Forced Expiratory Volume in 1 sec (FEV6)
chometers, of two different shapes, are tested. The first two 5. FEV1/FVC
had a change in diameter (as shown in fig. 5.a) of the tube as 6. FEV1/FEV6
well as the mesh, while the third was a tube with uniform di- 7. FEV3/FVC
ameter with a mesh inserted at the center of the tube (as 8. Peak Expiraotry Flow (PEF)
shown in fig. 5.b). Initially a mesh was fabricated with the 9. Full expiratory Time (FET)
hole of 1mm diameter and cross sectional area of 0.1021 x 10-4 10. Full Inspiratory Capacity (FIVC)
m2. This resulted in a high airway resistance of about 11. Full Inspiratory Capacity in 1 sec (FIVC1)
2kPa/L/s which is beyond the limits set by ATS of 150 12. FIVC1/FIVC
Pa/L/s. Another mesh of the same shape, was fabricated with 13. Peak Inspiratory Flow (PIF)
2mm diameter and a cross sectional area of around 0.6 x 10-4 14. Forced Expired Flow at 25% of FVC (FEF25)
m2. This resulted in much lower resistance but a common 15. Forced Expired Flow at 50% of FVC (FEF50)
problem was observed in both these mouthpieces and it was 16. Forced Expired Flow at 75% of FVC (FEF75)
observed that the shape of these pneumotachometers was cre- 17. Forced Expired Flow between 25%-75% of FVC
ating a turbulent flow. Thus, third pneumotachometer was (FEF25-75)
designed with no change in the tube diameters and an allu-

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International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research, Volume 6, Issue 6, June-2015 1176
ISSN 2229-5518
4 RESULTS & DISCUSSION efforts or only the selected efforts could be displayed for com-
parison. Waveforms of each effort are color coded to avoid
The basic GUI was eventually modified to an advanced GUI as
any confusion. All the parameter values are displayed in a
shown in fig. 6. It includes options for printing with a provi-
single table.
sion of recording total 10 efforts for each patient. All the 10

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Fig. 6: Final GUI: Showing 5 graphs, Spirometric parameter values displayed in table. Three different colours of waveforms denotes three different
efforts

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ISSN 2229-5518

TABLE 2
COMPARISON TABLE BETWEEN RESULTS OF SPIROMETER DEVELOPED BY BARC AND RESULTS OF SPIROMETER DEVELOPED BY WELCH
ALLYN (CARDIOPERFECT) SHOWING SNAPSHOTS OF GUI

BARC CardioPerfect

Flow-
Volume
Curve

Volume-
Time

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Curve

Readings

First row of Table 2 shows the flow-volume curves of the same volume-time curves of the same subject from both the spirom-
subject from both, the test as well as reference spirometer. It is eters. In the test spirometer, both, the Inspiratory and expira-
evident that the shape of the curves in both the spirometers is tory, cycles are shown while in the reference spirometer only
almost similar with negligible difference. Also, the maximum expiratory cycle is shown. Repeatability is seen in both the
peak expiratory flow obtained is around 4.19 l/s in the test spirometers. The maximum FVC in test spirometer is 1.96 L
spirometer and 4.02 l/s in the reference spirometer. Maximum while in reference spirometer is 1.81 L. Third row shows the
FEF25-75 obtained is around 2.78 l/s in test spirometer and readings of Spirometric parameters of the same subject from
2.20 l/s in reference spirometer. Second row shows the

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International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research, Volume 6, Issue 6, June-2015 1178
ISSN 2229-5518
both the spirometers. It is observed that FVC shows highest
correlation between the two spirometers.

5 CONCLUSION
Graphical representation of the complete breath cycle forms
the basis of diagnosis in spirometry. An easy to use GUI has
been developed successfully comprising of the Pressure Flow,
Velocity and volume graphs w.r.t to time, Flow-volume curve,
facilitates to acquire and save ten different efforts for each pa-
tient with printing facility of the report. Seventeen different
Spirometric parameters are calculated based on their defini-
tions and displayed in tabular form in the GUI. FVC values
show high correlations with those achieved by the reference
spirometer. Further, more regressive validation process will
make the spirometer ready to be commercially available.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

Authors are thankful to the Head, Electronics Division, BARC,

Mumbai, and Dr. G. D. Jindal, H.O.D Biomedical Department,
MGM College of Engineering & Technology, for their im-
mense support and guidance provided throughout the project.

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Authors are also thankful to Dr. Pourus Mehta of Electronics
Division, BARC, Mumbai, for his help during initialization of
this project.

REFERENCES
[1] Rolf M. Schlegelmilch, Rüdiger Kramme, Chapter 8. Pulmonary Function
Testing, ‘Functional Diagnostics Devices’.
[2] Porus Mehta & Vineet Sinha, “Development of first proto-types of a low-cost
computer based solid-state Spirometer for application in rural healthcare cen-
tres across India”; Global Journal of Medical Research, Volume XIII, Issue II
[3] NIOSH SPIROMETRY TRAINING GUIDE December 1, 2003 Prepared by
Universities Occupational Safety And Health Educational Resource Center.
[4] R. Carta1, D. Turgis, B. Hermans, P. Jourand, R. Onclin and R. Puers, “A
Differential Approach to Spirometry,” published in Biomedical Circuits and
Systems Conference, 2007. BIOCAS 2007. IEEE
[5] Jeremy Glynn, Jeremy Schaefer, ‘Low cost Spirometer’, Department of Bio-
medical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison
[6] Michael B. Jaffe, Flow Measurement with Respironics Novametrix Series 3
Flow Sensors, White Paper
[7] National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey; Respiratory health Spi-
rometry procedure manuals.

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