Appeal No. 2001-0250 Page 2
Application No. 08/283,074
An image of such a cross-sectional area as a function of axial
position along the airway conventionally is determined from
acoustic reflections measured by an electroacoustic transducer
placed in a position remote from the airway opening. The
image is called an area-distance function; it is represented
by the expression "A(x)," where x is the axial position along
the airway. The function helps in diagnosing pathologies
associated with oral, pulmonary, and nasal airways. Such
pathologies include sleep apnea, asthma, obstructive pulmonary
disease, tracheal stenosis, and nasal septum deviation.
The appellants' invention includes a tube with an open
end for insertion into an opening (i.e., by a mouth or
nostril) in a confined volume. A speaker coupled to the other
end of the tube launches acoustical energy into the tube
toward the opening to produce an incident wave and a reflected
wave to form a wave field. In one embodiment, the acoustical
energy is launched into a sidewall of the tube. Pressure-
wave-sensing transducers are mounted along the length of the
tube in spaced relationship for providing transduced signals
representing of the wave field at spaced locations in the
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