STATEMENT OF WORK Hans Rudolph Cardiac Output/Lung Function System Background The Airborne Hazards and Burn Pits Center of Excellence (AHBPCE) at the New Jersey War Related Illness and Injury Study Center (WRIISC) is seeking equipment to support a custom system capable of measuring cardiac output (CO) and shifts in functional residual capacity (FRC) during exercise. This system must integrate with our existing metabolic testing platform, the Beck Integrated Physiological System (BIPS). While BIPS currently measures key respiratory parameters such as minute ventilation, breathing frequency, and tidal volume during exercise, no commercially available system can track shifts in overall lung volume (i.e., FRC) in relation to total lung capacity. The ability to measure FRC during exercise is critical. For example, many Veterans experience breathlessness during exertion due to mechanical effects of obesity, such as added fat mass on the chest wall, which compresses lung volumes, i.e., FRC. This compression may lead to inefficient breathing patterns or impaired gas exchange, contributing to breathlessness. Without the ability to measure FRC during exercise, it would be impossible to determine whether a Veteran s breathlessness is caused by airborne hazard exposure or the mechanical effects of obesity. Given that a key focus of our lab is to assess exertional breathlessness in Veterans exposed to airborne hazards and that 40% of the population is obese it is essential to differentiate between these contributing factors. Moreover, cardiac output, a vital measure in clinical exercise physiology, is influenced by shifts in lung volume (i.e., FRC). The only way to measure both CO and FRC simultaneously is to build an acetylene/helium rebreathing system, a method validated by leading institutions such as the Mayo Clinic and the Institute for Exercise and Environmental Medicine at UT-Southwestern Medical Center. This rebreathing system yields cardiac output and FRC at the exact same time point. One of the limitations of commercial metabolic systems is their inability to address critical research questions related to respiratory mechanics during exercise, as is the case here. While some companies offer equipment for measuring cardiac output during exercise, these systems have limited accuracy and none can simultaneously measure both cardiac output and FRC both of which are essential for our research at AHBPCE.. To achieve our research goals, the only viable solution is to construct a testing system similar to those used by renowned laboratories conducting cutting-edge research in respiratory and heart failure patients with exertional breathlessness. This system is the only method available to determine the causes of exertional breathlessness in Veterans exposed to airborne hazards, a condition that remains untreatable due to the lack of understanding of the physiological mechanisms involved. Selection Criteria Vendor must meet or exceed all requirements as specified below. Deliverables or Deliver Schedule Specifications Hardware (with model numbers in parentheses) Pneumotachometer for measuring air flow and volume: Inspired (4813) and expired (3813); heated shell (w/ heater control; 3850A) for expired to reduce moisture build-up. Two-way y-shape non rebreathe valve (2730) for directing flow from inspiration to expiration. Exhalation ports/diaphragms for controlling the direction of air flow. Inflatable balloons (8250C) and control panel (8230) for the occlusion of air flow when breathing the inspired gases necessary to measure cardiac output. 3L Calibration syringe (5530) for calibrating the pneumotachometer system. Reusable nose clips. Three way stop cocks (2100C) for the collection of expired gases. Options Accessories Features Simultaneous measurement of cardiac output and lung volumes at any point during rest and during exercise protocols. Place of Performance Vendor to deliver equipment to VANJHCS East Orange Campus (11-201).
