Month: August 2020

Panoply of Respiration and Pulmonary Measurements

The respiratory or pulmonary system performs the important functions of supplying oxygen (O2) during inhalation, removing carbon dioxide (CO2) during exhalation, and adjusting the acid-base balance (pH) of the body by removing acid-forming CO2.

All humans and animals require oxygen to carry out cellular processes of energy transformation essential for life. During cellular metabolism, oxygen is consumed when nutrients such as protein, carbohydrate and fat are oxidized, and carbon dioxide is produced as a gaseous waste product. Collectively, the processes whereby oxygen is taken up from the atmosphere, delivered to body cells and consumed, and the processes of producing carbon dioxide and delivering it to the lungs for excretion into the atmosphere constitute respiration.

Processes of respiration fall into one of three categories: external respiration, gas transport, and internal respiration. External respiration refers to mechanisms by which a person obtains oxygen from the external environment and eliminates carbon dioxide into the external environment. Gas transport refers to mechanisms used to distribute oxygen to and remove carbon dioxide from cells. Internal respiration refers to the chemical reactions of cellular metabolism in which oxygen is consumed and carbon dioxide is produced.

Gas exchange between the air in the lung and the blood is a process of simple diffusion. A gas diffuses from a region of higher concentration to a region of lower concentration, or, from an area of higher partial pressure to an area of lower partial pressure. Partial pressure is simply a way of expressing the concentration of gas molecules.

Blood transports gases to and from the body’s cells. The respiratory system supplies oxygen to the blood and removes carbon dioxide from the blood. At the beginning of inspiration, the thoracic cavity is enlarged by contraction of the diaphragm and the external intercostal muscles. Expiration begins when the inspiratory muscles relax. The diaphragm returns to its resting dome shape, decreasing thoracic and intrapulmonic volume.

What are some common measurements extracted when we measure respiration and how are these measurements acquired and analyzed?

Pulmonary Airflow — The pulmonary airflow analysis uses a calibrated airflow signal from a pneumotach transducer, of which there are many types for various airflow applications.

Compliance and Resistance Analysis is measured on a breath-by-breath basis by diving tidal volume by change in pressure between the exhale start and inhale start locations of the breath.

Respiratory Gas Analysis uses the BIOPAC O2100C and CO2100C amplifier modules for measuring and analyzing oxygen and carbon dioxide content.

Anaerobic Threshold uses AcqKnowledge software to establish a ratio of inspired volume and VO2 consumption and to integrate the air flow signal to obtain total inspired volume in real time.

Respiratory Exchange Ratio is determined by dividing VCO2 produced by VO2 consumed. An automated script for computing RER is available via download from BIOPAC.

Respiration, Gas Analysis, Pulmonary Function, and Exercise Physiology for Research applications and Education curriculum are available.

Respiratory Cycle and Exercise Physiology are supported by the new BSL HOME Practical Lab Kit, enabling students to keep abreast of curriculum demands while safely distanced.

We invite you to sign up for BIOPAC’s free How to Record Great Respiration Data webinar on demand. You may also watch archived webinar events on demand by visiting our Webinars page.

BIOPAC offers a wide array of wired and wireless equipment that can be used in your research. To find more information on solutions for recording and analyzing signals such as ECG, heart rate, respiration, and more using any platforms mentioned in this blog post, you can visit the individual application pages on the BIOPAC website.

Photo by Victor Garcia on Unsplash

Libraries in 2020: From Curbside Pickup to Practical Lab Kits

Libraries can support remote students with distance learning tools like BSL Home practical lab kits, accessible wifi or hotspot loaners, and more.

By: Jasmine Anderson, Biopac Student Lab Product Manager

People call the library the heart of the university campus, which speaks for the memories students and alumni associate with it. It’s the essential college stomping ground and uniquely serves as both a quiet refuge for studying and a meeting place for free-flowing ideas. At the library, peers mingle, study groups collaborate, and you can find solace from the stress of student life between the book stacks. Well, at least that was true before COVID-19…

Now facing the pandemic, libraries are performing their own open-heart surgery to maintain the flow of shared knowledge and support a thriving academic experience. They are redesigning ways to safely provide information and tools to students, facilitating inter-disciplinary course reserves and collaboration, and helping to maximize resource funding and logistics across campus.

“Quiet, please” doesn’t apply these days…talk to your librarian to discover new funding options!

To maintain their role in the college experience while also evolving with the recent changes to academia, libraries are adopting electronic print collections, virtual technology, and self-service stations. Adding these services—along with the infrastructure for self-checkout, curbside pickup, and the ability to loan technology such as laptops, anatomical models, and lab kits—helps support the transition to distance learning at universities.

Libraries can also help students in the sciences by providing funding for portable lab kits to fill the gap left by practical lab closures. In the fall, students can reserve BSL Home kits on loan from the library to participate in hands-on physiology experiments from anywhere. With BSL Home, students record and analyze data from their own bodies and receive the same authentic, open-ended, and complex learning framework that’s true of the traditional lab.

To champion this, the Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL) put forth guidelines for instruction programs stating that libraries should demonstrate a “commitment to purchasing and providing support for classroom technologies.” Alongside the University of Wisconsin, several other institutions are following suit by providing resources and funding to support classroom technologies. A handful of these universities are listed below with their library action plan (Table 1).

Institution/University Library Action Plan
Auburn University Auburn’s subject librarians offer services to help faculty by purchasing books, journals, and electronic resources as well as supporting teaching and research in specific disciplines.
Case Western University Case Western’s Library equipment borrowing program takes suggestions for what they should be carrying online.
Georgia Southern University Georgia Southern provides a materials request form that faculty can complete online to request the purchase of teaching and research materials.
Michigan State University Michigan State allows instructors to request item purchases to place them on course reserve, similar to the University of Wisconsin MERIT Library.
University of California, Santa Barbara UCSB allows similar reserve requests by directing faculty to make requests to their subject librarians.
University of California, Los Angeles UCLA utilizes CCLE (Common Collaboration and Learning Environment), a campus-wide service that makes collaboration possible across schools, divisions, and departments and helps to advance remote teaching, learning and research.
University of Nevada, Las Vegas UNLV takes faculty purchase recommendations through a form on their website which can specifically be recommended to their healthcare library.

Table 1 – A list of Institution/University Libraries paired with their action plan to support classroom technologies.

Even though libraries will not operate in their normal manner this fall, they still remain at the heart of campus life, working to support the student body in stimulating and innovative ways. The students of 2020 won’t have the same memories in the library as classes before them, but with new technology available online and kits to take home, it’s encouraging to see the library continue to be a place of shared knowledge and scholarship. For more information on how your school can accommodate practical labs with BSL Home, talk to your librarian and reach us at info@biopac.com.

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