Occupational medicine (Philadelphia, Pa.)
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In addition to improvements in spirometry instrumentation, the availability and quality of mechanical pump-testing equipment have also improved. These devices have largely relied on the ATS 24 standard waveforms and appear to simulate human FVC maneuvers reasonably well, at least with respect to testing using room air. Testing using mechanical pumps filled with heated and humidified air to better simulate the human FVC maneuver is still evolving. ⋯ The use of quality assessment software appears to significantly improve the quality of the spirometry data through feedback to technicians. Spirometry hardware is also advancing as several hand-held devices are being developed to measure not only peak flow but also FEV1, FVC, and other parameters. These battery-powered portable spirometers will continue to decrease in size and cost and may eventually displace the hand-held peak flow meters in current use.