PULMONARY function studies in small infants have been limited in the past by failure to develop practical methods for collecting expired gas samples. Adaption of a respiratory valve suitable for use in small subjects with small tidal volumes has been difficult and has led to the use of techniques with the body plethysmograph, contour face mask and large head chamber. The body plethysmograph offers only indirect data and requires considerable prepration before each study. In addition, it has the disadvantage that once the infant is placed in the plethysmograph chamber further manipulations of the infant are not possible. Systems using the contour face mask on head chamber involve a large dead space which may be quite significant when one considers the small volumes dealt with. In order to overcome the problem of large dead space, Cayler et al., similar to others, circulated air across the face of the contour mask. However, because of the dilution effect, differences in the composition of the inspired and expired gases were very small and therefore the chance for error in the calculations was increased.
Berglund and Karlberg, and Geubelle et al., while studying functional residual capacity in infants, found that practically all quiet, healthy newborn infants breathe through the nose and can also tolerate the insertion of small tubes in their nostrils for varying periods. On the basis of these observations, a respiratory valve has been designed for insertion directly into the nostrils, permitting collection of total expired air. The valve, especially adapted for use in small infants, offers minimal resistance to respiration and has a dead space of 0.8 ml.
The Effects of Inner Diameter of Respiratory Valve on Pulmonary Ventilation