What Is an Incentive Spirometer? A Plain-Language Guide

Last verified: October 6, 2026. An incentive spirometer is a small, handheld breathing device that gives a person visual feedback while they take slow, deep breaths. It is most often handed to patients after surgery or during an illness that keeps them in bed, as a way of encouraging deep breathing that might otherwise not happen. Despite the similar name, it is not the same instrument as the diagnostic spirometer used to test lung function. This guide explains what an incentive spirometer is, why it exists, the main types, how it differs from related devices, and what research administrators, procurement staff, and clinic managers should know about it.

This page is general information, not clinical or safety training. Always follow your institution’s procedures and the manufacturer’s instructions for use.

What Is an Incentive Spirometer?

An incentive spirometer is a lightweight plastic device with a mouthpiece, a flexible tube, and a clear chamber that contains a moving indicator. When the person breathes in through the mouthpiece, the indicator rises in proportion to how strong and sustained the breath is. A sliding marker lets staff or the patient set a target, and the device gives a visible reward, or “incentive,” for reaching it. The idea is simple: turn something that is easy to skip, a slow, deep breath, into a small, concrete goal that the person can see and try to beat.

The device does not push air into the lungs. The patient does all the work, which makes it a training and prompting tool rather than a form of respiratory support.

The Problem an Incentive Spirometer Solves

Lungs are made of millions of tiny air sacs that must stay open to exchange gas. When a person lies still, is in pain, or has been under anesthesia, breathing tends to become shallow. Shallow breathing can leave some of these air sacs partly collapsed and can make it harder to clear secretions, which in turn raises the risk of lung complications such as pneumonia. After chest or abdominal surgery, pain makes deep breathing uncomfortable, so people instinctively avoid it.

An incentive spirometer addresses this by prompting regular deep breaths and by making them measurable. It supports lung expansion, gives staff a quick sense of whether the patient is engaged, and gives the patient a role in their own recovery. It is generally used alongside other measures, such as getting out of bed, coughing, and pain control, as determined by the care team.

How It Works, at a General Level

• The mouthpiece and tube — the person seals their lips around the mouthpiece and breathes in through the tube.
• The indicator — a piston, ball, or similar marker in a clear chamber rises as the person inhales. A steady, slow inhale keeps it up.
• The goal marker — an adjustable pointer on the side of the device that marks the target volume set by a clinician.
• The scale — markings that let staff note how far the person managed to breathe in, so progress can be tracked over time.
• A flow-guide — many devices include a second indicator that shows whether the person is breathing in too quickly, since slow, steady inhalation is the aim.

How often to use the device, how many breaths per session, and what target to aim for are set by the patient’s care team and should be followed as directed.

Who Uses an Incentive Spirometer

The primary users are patients, guided by nurses, respiratory therapists, and physical therapists. They are commonly provided after surgery, especially chest and abdominal procedures, and to people on bed rest or with conditions that limit their breathing, such as pneumonia or rib injuries. Some patients take one home after discharge. In research, incentive spirometers may appear in perioperative recovery studies as an intervention or as a measure of adherence, although they are not precision instruments.

Types of Incentive Spirometers

Volume-oriented devices

These measure and display the volume of air inhaled, typically in a scale marked on the chamber. The device encourages the person to take a sustained deep breath and reach a target volume. They are the most common type in current use.

Flow-oriented devices

These display how fast air is moving rather than how much has been inhaled. A ball or balls in separate chambers rise according to airflow, and the person tries to keep them elevated. They tend to be simple and inexpensive.

Pediatric and adult versions

Different sizes and scales are made for children and adults, and some pediatric designs are decorated or game-like to encourage use.

Electronic and connected versions

A smaller number of products add sensors, screens, or data connections that log use over time. These can support remote monitoring or research but are more expensive and are not necessary for the basic purpose.

How an Incentive Spirometer Differs from Related Devices

• Incentive spirometer vs. diagnostic spirometer — a diagnostic spirometer is a calibrated instrument used by trained staff to measure lung function, such as how much air a person can exhale and how fast, as part of evaluating respiratory conditions. An incentive spirometer is a training aid and is not used to diagnose anything. For the broader field these tests belong to, see the guide to pulmonology.
• Incentive spirometer vs. ventilator — a ventilator moves air for a patient who cannot breathe adequately alone. An incentive spirometer only prompts a patient who is breathing on their own to take deeper breaths.
• Incentive spirometer vs. pulse oximeter — a pulse oximeter estimates the oxygen saturation of the blood, usually by a clip on a finger, and delivers no breathing support or exercise. The two are often used on the same patient for different purposes.
• Incentive spirometer vs. peak flow meter — a peak flow meter measures how fast a person can blow air out, often for monitoring asthma. It measures exhaling, whereas an incentive spirometer encourages inhaling.
• Incentive spirometer vs. oscillating positive expiratory pressure devices — these are handheld devices used to help loosen and clear secretions on exhalation. They serve a different function than lung expansion.

Safety and Quality Topics

The device is low risk, but it is not without considerations. Because it is a single-patient item, it should not be shared between patients, and healthcare facilities typically assign one to each patient and send it home with them or discard it at discharge. The mouthpiece and tube can harbor germs if not kept clean, so the manufacturer’s care instructions apply. Some patients may feel lightheaded if they breathe too rapidly or too many times in a row, which is one reason clinicians give specific guidance on how to use it. The readings are rough guides to effort, not clinical measurements, and should not be treated as precise lung-function data. Effort-based devices depend on the patient’s cooperation, so staff typically coach and encourage use.

Practical Relevance for Research Administration and Procurement

Incentive spirometers are inexpensive, single-patient consumables, but they are used in volume across surgical services. Buyers usually decide between a small number of standard adult and pediatric models, with an eye to which scales and target markings staff are used to reading. Standardizing on a model helps with training and with patient education materials, which should match the device actually being handed out.

Some practical points: confirm that the device is latex-free if the facility has a policy on latex-free products, check the packaging, and consider whether a kit that bundles the device with education material makes sense. Because the product is single-patient, inventory needs track admissions and surgical volume rather than equipment counts. Facilities also consider what to do at discharge, whether the patient takes the device home, and how that affects reorders.

In research, if an incentive spirometer is used as an intervention or an adherence measure, the protocol should state the model, how targets are set, how use is recorded, and that the device is a prompting tool and not a calibrated measurement instrument. Studies that need precise lung-function data should use the appropriate diagnostic spirometry equipment instead.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an incentive spirometer used for?

It is used to encourage slow, deep breaths that help keep the lungs expanded, most often after surgery or during illness that limits movement.

Is an incentive spirometer the same as a spirometer?

No. A diagnostic spirometer measures lung function under a clinician’s supervision. An incentive spirometer is a handheld training device that gives feedback on a breath and is not used for diagnosis.

Does an incentive spirometer help the lungs recover?

It is meant to promote deep breathing and lung expansion, and it is commonly used as part of post-operative care. How helpful it is for a given person is a question for the care team, and it is used alongside other measures.

How is it different from a ventilator?

A ventilator delivers breaths for a patient. With an incentive spirometer the patient does all the breathing and the device only provides feedback.

Can an incentive spirometer be shared?

No. It is intended for one patient, because the mouthpiece and tube can spread germs between people. Facilities typically give each patient their own.

What do the numbers on the device mean?

On volume-type devices they show roughly how much air the person inhaled. They are a guide to effort and progress, not precise clinical measurements, and the care team sets the target.