Acoustic determinants of respiratory system properties

Mechanical and geometrical properties of the upper and central airways between the mouth and the carina can be inferred noninvasively in individual subjects from high frequency acoustic reflection data measured at the mouth. Idealizations implicit in the theoretical inverse-scattering formalism used to infer this information lead to a variety of limitations in data acquisition, and several forms of errors. In particular, airway wall dynamics, propagation of higher order modes, and limited measurement bandwidth combine to limit spatial resolution.