Cough analysis

Project narrative

We have evolved a cough mechanism in order to breakup our mucus to help our mucocilliary clearance remove the mucus for processing. Cystic fibrosis patients have more viscous mucus than healthy individuals and have an impeded mucocilliary clearance mechanism, so it is reasonable to assume that the way they cough is also impeded somehow. This project will investigate, through crowd-sourcing data, if there exists a "normal" cough by analyzing the coughs of both healthy and unhealthy patients. If there exists a normal frequency spectrum of healthy coughs, then the possibility exists that applying the "normal" cough response to cystic fibrosis patients may help them move mucus from their lungs and thus evading infection.

Introduction

Mucus is a visocoelastic material that is a line of defense to the immune system and it is the first line of defense for the lungs. If a foreign object is between 1–5 µm in aerodynamic diameter it has a high probability to reach the deep lungs. Anything smaller is typically breathed out due to its momentum within the airflow of an inhalation, i.e. it stays within a flow stream of the inhalation. If it is larger, then it has enough momentum to impact the esophagus before it reaches the lungs and is swallowed where the stomach then processes it. However, if the foreign object reaches the lungs, then it will land in the mucus that coats the airways. Defense mechanisms will then respond to the foreign object to remove it from the system before it reaches the bloodstream. If the foreign object stays within the mucus, then the lungs will move the mucus through mucocilliary clearance mechanisms. When the process of mucocilliary clearance needs help moving mucus through the lungs for processing, a cough will be issued. Since mucus is visoelastic, a sharp percussive motion can break up the mucus (i.e. a cough), which then allows the mucocilliary clearance to do its job.