Detecting Lung Infections Through Vibration

Following informed consent procedures, participants will be randomly assigned (much like a flip of a coin) to one of four experimental groups in order to test the effects of various frequencies of HFO on the size and concentration of particles obtained from EB. Group 1 (n=30) will receive 10 minutes of HFO at 15 Hz. Group 2 (n=30) will receive an identical course of HFO with the frequency set at 30 Hz. Group 3 (n=30) will receive HFO at 60 Hz and Group 4 (n=30) at 100 Hz. Participants will be tested on two separate days in order to systematically vary HFO intensity. Once again, much like a flip of a coin, each participant will be randomly assigned to receive HFO at either a low (0.75 cmH2O) or high (1.25 cm H2O) intensity on HFO Day 1. Participants receiving low intensity HFO on Day 1 will receive high intensity HFO on Day 2, and vice versa. Between HFO Testing Day 1 and 2 there will be a washout period of at least 24 hours.

The exhaled air will be directed to a culturing media in place of the Sizer for collection of the droplets during two conditions: tidal breathing without oscillation (control) and tidal breathing with oscillation (experimental). The samples collected in the medium will later be cultured in a lab to determine the microbial species and their abundances. The purpose of Phase II experiments is to characterize the biological constituents produced from the oscillation enhanced sampling and contrast these constituents with those obtained during non-oscillation enhanced sampling. We hope to determine if the addition of oscillation increases the variety and abundance of microbial species able to be extracted from exhaled breath.