Waveform and spectral analysis of crackles.

Crackles were recorded from six patients, four with tuberculosis and two with chronic bronchitis. It was observed by waveform and spectral analysis that most of the frequency components of a crackle were limited within a range of 0.1 to 1 kHz. Characteristically, waveforms of crackles were separable into two segments, initial "starting segments" and subsequent "decay segments." It is suggested that the former represents a shock wave caused by an abrupt opening of the airway and that the latter is a damped sinusoid caused by this shock wave exciting a resonator in the lung. It is speculated that the starting segment is determined by the pressure ratio at the site of the airway opening, and the decay segment by the resonant frequency and the quality factor of the resonator. Because transmission of a crackle is highly directional the waveforms recorded on the chest wall are modified by the positional relationship between the sound source and the microphone.