20 articles
Auditory brainstem response
The auditory brainstem response (ABR), also called BAER, is an electrophysiological test recording auditory nerve and brainstem activity, used to estimate hearing thresholds in infants and assess brainstem function.
Body plethysmography
Body plethysmography is a pulmonary function test in which the patient breathes inside a sealed cabin, measuring thoracic gas volume and airway resistance; a complete study takes under 20 minutes.
Bronchospirometry
Bronchospirometry: invasive spirometric technique recording ventilation and gas exchange of the right and left lung separately, devised by Jacobaeus, Frenckner, and Bjorkman in 1932 and later replaced by scintigraphy.
Carbon monoxide diffusing capacity test
The carbon monoxide diffusing capacity test (DLCO), also called the transfer factor for carbon monoxide (TLCO), is a pulmonary function test measuring how efficiently the lungs transfer inhaled carbon monoxide into the blood.
Forced Expiratory Flow Rates
Forced expiratory flow rates (FEF25-75%, FEF75%, PEF, MMEF) are spirometric flow measurements from the forced expiratory maneuver; once promoted for small airways disease, they are now not recommended for routine clinical use.
Forced Expiratory Volume
Forced expiratory volume (FEV1, VEMS): volume of air forcibly exhaled in one second after full inspiration, measured by spirometry; core index for diagnosing and grading obstructive lung disease, defined by Tiffeneau and Pinelli in 1947.
Impulse oscillometry
Impulse oscillometry (IOS) is a lung function test that measures respiratory resistance and reactance during tidal breathing, useful for young children and patients who cannot perform spirometry.
Intraocular lens power calculation
Intraocular lens power calculation is the preoperative ophthalmology method that converts measurements of axial length and corneal power into the diopter power of the lens implanted during cataract surgery.
Lung Volume Measurements
Lung volume measurements determine absolute lung gas volumes (FRC, RV, TLC) by body plethysmography, multiple breath washout, helium dilution, or imaging, standardized in the 2023 ERS/ATS technical statement updating 2005.
Maximal Expiratory Flow Rate
Maximal expiratory flow rate (MEFR), also known as FEF 200-1200, is a spirometric index measuring airflow over the first liter of a forced expiration, effort dependent and now rarely reported routinely.
Maximal Expiratory Flow-Volume Curves
Maximal expiratory flow-volume curves (MEFV) plot expiratory flow in L/s against lung volume during a forced vital capacity maneuver, revealing obstructive, restrictive, and upper airway obstruction patterns in spirometry.
Maximal Midexpiratory Flow Rate
Maximal midexpiratory flow rate (MMEF, FEF25–75%) is a spirometric index: mean expiratory flow over the middle half of FVC, historically linked to small airways disease but poorly reproducible and not recommended for routine reporting.
Maximal Respiratory Pressures
Maximal respiratory pressures (MIP/PImax, MEP/PEmax) are noninvasive bedside tests of respiratory muscle strength in cmH2O, used in neuromuscular disease monitoring, weaning assessment, and interpreted against age- and sex-specific reference values.
Multiple inert gas elimination technique
The multiple inert gas elimination technique (MIGET) is a respiratory physiology method that quantifies lung ventilation-perfusion matching by infusing six inert gases into a vein and measuring their elimination.
Ocular biometry
Ocular biometry is the measurement of the eye's dimensions, chiefly corneal curvature, axial length, and anterior chamber depth, used to calculate intraocular lens power for cataract surgery.
Optoelectronic plethysmography
Optoelectronic plethysmography (OEP) is a noninvasive motion-capture method, introduced in 2001, that tracks infrared-reflective markers on the chest wall to measure breathing volumes, mainly in research.
Phrenic nerve stimulation
Phrenic nerve stimulation is a clinical neurophysiology technique that activates the phrenic nerve, the diaphragm's sole motor supply, to test diaphragm function or treat central sleep apnea.
Plethysmography
Plethysmography is the measurement and recording of volume changes in a body part, organ, or whole body, applied to lung volumes, body composition, and limb blood flow.
Polygraphy (medicine)
Polygraphy is a home sleep test recording airflow, breathing effort, and oxygen saturation without EEG, used chiefly to diagnose obstructive sleep apnea in adults at moderate to high risk.
SF-36
The SF-36 is a 36-item self-report questionnaire measuring health status across eight scales and physical and mental summary scores, the most widely used quality-of-life measure in research.