IN-VIVO MEASUREMENT OF HUMAN NASAL MUCOCILIARY MOTILITY USING A LASER-LIGHT SCATTERING INSTRUMENT

The mucociliary system is one of the most important airway defense mec hanisms, and knowledge of the mucociliary wave frequency (MWF) is impo rtant in the understanding of this system. Employing a laser light sca ttering technique and a thin, flexible fiberoptic probe, we developed and tested a simple and practical device for real-time in vivo measure ments of mucociliary activity in the human nose. The laser instrument is user-friendly and does not produce any discomfort to the patient. T he mean +/- SE of MWF of 36 measurements in 16 normal subjects was 7.7 +/- 0.5 Hz. The mean MWF of 17 measurements in 7 patients with allerg ic rhinitis was 5.5 +/- 0.2 Hz (p < .005), and the mean MWF of 56 meas urements in 17 patients with septum deviation was 5.8 +/- 0.2 Hz (p < .001). The instrument presented in this study might provide a new and convenient method of studying the mucociliary activity in the respirat ory tract.