P097 Assessment of intrapulmonary percussive ventilation on the rheology of bronchial secretions

Objectives: Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a muco-obstructive lung disease characterized by excessive mucus production with altered rheological properties that contribute to disease progression. Intrapulmonary percussive ventilation (IPV) is an airway clearance technique that, among its characteristics, has been postulated to enhance mucociliary clearance by reducing the viscoelasticity of tracheobronchial sputum. However, despite many years of usage, there is no undisputable evidence to support the notion that IPV acts as intended. We investigate, ex-vivo, the effect of IPV on mucus rheological properties and to examine the optimal combination of percussion frequency and amplitude susceptible to maximise the reduction of sputum viscoelasticity.