Detection and Analysis of Breathing Sounds from Trachea

A major component of risk management during deep sedation or anesthesia involves the monitoring of various physiological signals. The aim of this study was to develop a sensing module for monitoring breathing sounds from trachea in order to minimize the risk factor of hypopnea and hypoxia during intervention under deep sedation. PVDF(polyvinylidene fluoride) film as a sensing material and wearable sensing module were developed in house for detecting tracheal sounds during respiration. Analysis algorithm for removing environmental noise and calculating respiratory rate was proved to be accurate. Results show that the proposed sensor, simple in design, noninvasive, patient friendly, detects breathing sounds easily. It could be used to alert clinicians about the patient's respiratory deterioration earlier than the currently existing methods.