Evaluation of a hot-wire respiratory flowmeter for clinical applicability.

A hot-wire flowmeter was evaluated for clinical applicability. 1) Calibration with a syringe could be done if emptying duration was 1-15 s. 2) Outputs linearly decreased with decreasing concentration of N2 in O2. Outputs with CO2 in O2 and N2O in O2 represented nonlinear convex relationships with varying concentrations of CO2 and N2O. Correction for each gas mixture to be measured is required. 3) Outputs linearly decreased with decreasing barometric pressure. 4) Stability assessed with a piston respirator was excellent (within +/- 2% of syringe volume) after 15 min warmup time. However, daily calibrations are recommended in clinical situations. 5) Nebulization, if not excessive, was acceptable if the expired gas was measured at the mouth. 6) Hot-wire burning, which occurred when it was partially in contact with materials whose specific heat differed with air, was successfully protected with a simple shutoff circuit. 7) The possibility of producing nitrogen oxides by the catalytic action of the platinum hot-wire was denied by colorimetric determination. Interchangeability and sterilizability of transducers and improved mechanical strength with platinum-rhodium alloy are also discussed.