Title: A review of the relationship between flow-volume curve and obstructive sleep apnoea

Authors: Seval Bulut Eris; Cahit Bilgin; Ömer Eriş; Mehmet Recep Bozkurt

Addresses: Faculty of Engineering, Sakarya University, 54187, Sakarya, Turkey ' Department of Chest Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, Sakarya University, 54187, Sakarya, Turkey ' Faculty of Engineering, Sakarya University, 54187, Sakarya, Turkey ' Faculty of Engineering, Sakarya University, 54187, Sakarya, Turkey

Abstract: This study presents a systematic review of studies in the literature evaluating the relationship between the flow-volume curve and obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). When the literature was examined, it was observed that there are few studies in this field, and only statistical analyses were made using the ready parameters given by the pulmonary function test (PFT). New biomarkers can be discovered with characteristic and statistical features extracted from the flow-volume curve to diagnose OSA. Machine learning-based systems can be developed using biomarkers. Rules-based automatic diagnosis systems can enable faster OSA diagnosis. In addition, it can eliminate the disadvantages arising from using a sleep laboratory to diagnose OSA.

Keywords: obstructive sleep apnoea; OSA; flow-volume curve; flow-volume loop; saw-tooth pattern; pulmonary function test; PFT; machine learning.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMEI.2025.148639

International Journal of Medical Engineering and Informatics, 2025 Vol.17 No.5, pp.476 - 486

Received: 05 May 2022
Accepted: 10 Feb 2023
Published online: 17 Sep 2025 *

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