A COPD screening device reporting FEV1 and ‘Lung Age’ PulmoLife is a new COPD screening device, designed for quick and easy screening of adult smokers for early detection of COPD. Smokers are at the greatest risk of developing COPD and decline in lung function in susceptible smokers has been shown to be twice that of non-smokers.
This small, innovative device measures FEV1, the measurement of choice in COPD screening. The unit will display a patient’s result together with the FEV1 as a percentage of their predicted value. These results are used to calculate a ‘Lung Age’. The associated ‘Lung Age’ graphical display may help the patient realise the physical damage caused by smoking, encouraging attendance for smoking cessation advice and full spirometry assessment, leading to early diagnosis and appropriate management of COPD.
Forced Expiratory Volume in the First Second of Expiration. The use of FEV1 is well documented as a useful diagnostic tool for the detection of early COPD. When comparing its result against predicted values and using patients FEV1 result as a percentage of predicted values (FEV1 % predicted) the likelihood and severity of COPD can be seen.
In addition to comparing patients FEV1 results with the predicted reference values for normal subjects, estimation of ‘Lung Age’ can be used to demonstrate to smokers the damage caused to their lungs by smoking in a way they can understand. The ‘Lung Age’ estimation is based on a patients FEV1 results and predicted values. A ‘Lung Age’ example; a 40 year old 5’9" (1.75m) male smoker has an FEV1 of 3.4L giving an estimated ‘Lung Age’ of 52 years. This is because the FEV1 is 100% of the predicted value that a 52 year old would be expected to get.
PulmoLife continues the Micro Medical tradition of being accurate and simple to use and provides health professionals with a useful and unique mass-screening tool to help reduce the burden of chronic lung disease.
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