Talk:Aerophagia

Unpublished thesis
An unpublished thesis is not a source for medical page - it has not passed through peer reivew to enter a journal, and is generally unaccessible. I've removed the following text (which looks like a copy-and-paste from the thesis) pending an actual citation as violating WP:OR because it doesn't have a reliable source covering its main points. WLU (talk) 19:45, 10 April 2008 (UTC)


 * Acoustical properties

Development of an instrument that would automatically detect aerophagia on patients during NIV, similar to a heart rate monitor, is therefore highly desirable. In 2002, a PhD student at The University of Western Australia started a study in an attempt to develop such an instrument. The study started with acoustical analysis of the sound waves created during aerophagia, to determine the characteristics of this disease. Knowing the characteristics of the sound wave and the ability to detect it automatically will assist the medical world to determine the actual cause of aerophagia.

The PhD study was carried on by a final year engineering thesis in 2006. It was found that aerophagia has a dominant frequency of 120 Hz and duration in the range of 0.02 to 0.22 seconds. This would allow aerophagia sound to be distinguished from normal bowel sounds that has a dominant frequency of 100 Hz and from normal swallowing sounds that is normally at 1000 Hz. However, more work would be required before it would be possible to diagnose aerophagia when there is a lot of intestinal sound (large range of 100 to 1000 Hz).


 * Characteristic waveforms

The 2006 study also found that aerophagia has some "defining" characteristics of aerophagia waveforms. Here are some examples of the characteristic aerophagia waveforms that was found during the final year engineering project (Details of these are included in the final year thesis).

First, the staccato aerophagia. It got its name from the shape of the waveform and the sound it makes. It is made out of distinct peaks with quiet time between. Interestingly, the magnitude of each of the peaks are identical to the 2nd decimal place AND the distance between them are identical!

Second, the knocking aerophagia. It got its name because it sounded like knocks made on a soft surface. This type is characterised by the triangular waveforms.

Third, double peaks, which is obviously named because of the shape of the waveform. In one sample of sound, the double peaks indicated on the drawing is repeated multiple times, only with different magnitudes.

Image:Staccato_aerophagia.JPG| staccato aerophagia waveform Image:Knocking aerophagia.JPG‎| knocking aerophagia waveform Image:Double_peaks_aerophagia.JPG| double peaks aerophagia waveform

Three more types of aerophagia was found and reported in the thesis, but the waveforms of these 3 are the most interesting and obvious to spot!