Now, a jacket to help check patients’ lung capacity easily

Vadodara: This invention by a faculty member of Medical College Baroda will reduce the difficulty that patients face while undergoing pulmonary function test (PFT) used by doctors, especially chest specialists, to check the capacity of lungs.

Dr Prashant Rajdeep from the physiology department of the medical college has developed a device (a jacket) that will reduce the amount of voluntary efforts that patients put during PFT.

“In medical science, PFTs are conducted to check the functioning capacity of the patient’s lungs. For this, a patient must inhale and exhale to the maximum capacity,” said Rajdeep.

“But most patients must make repeated efforts to perform this test well. Many a times, if the process is not done properly, it is difficult to reach any conclusion and the test fails,” he said.

The jacket that has been developed by him and patented by the Government of India, is based on the concept that helps reduce the amount of efforts a patient has to make. The patient has to wear the jacket while taking the PFT.

“The jacket has multiple layers. It uses cold water in a jacket as stimuli for inspiration and later pressurizes air in the same jacket as an aid for expiration,” he said, adding that the jacket in a way provides a ‘cold shock’ so that the patient involuntary takes a gasp.

“It is similar to the inspiratory gasp that one takes if cold water is poured on him or her,” he said.

Rajdeep had applied for patent in 2014 before which the device was tested on patients. “This method is a win-win situation for patients as it will reduce the amount of effort that they have to put in and at the same time save time and energy of doctors who have to teach the manoeuvres to the patients,” he said, adding that since the technology has received patent, it can be exploited commercially now.