Developed: New scan method that reveals secrets of lung function

A team of researchers at Newcastle University has developed a new technique of scanning lungs that is able to show the effects of treatment on lung function in real time

[Representative image]

A team of researchers at Newcastle University has developed a new technique of scanning lungs that is able to show the effects of treatment on lung function in real time.

The researchers believe the new scan method will make possible exploring the functioning of transplanted lungs in more details.

The scan method enabled the team to see how air moves in and out of the lungs as people takebreath in patients with asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and patients who have received a lung transplant.

“We hope this new type of scan might allow us to see changes in the transplant lungs earlier and before signs of damage are present in the usual blowing tests", Professor Andrew Fisher, Professor of Respiratory Transplant Medicine at Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Newcastle University, UK, said.

Use of Special Gas

In the study published in Radiology and JHLT Open, the team explained how they use a special gas, called perfluoropropane, that can be seen on an MRI scanner.

"This would allow any treatment to be started earlier and help protect the transplanted lungs from further damage,” he added.

The gas can be safely breathed in and out by patients, and then scans taken to look at where in the lungs the gas has reached.

“Our scans show where there is patchy ventilation in patients with lung disease, and show us which parts of the lung improve with treatment,” said project lead, Professor Pete Thelwall at Newcastle University.

More Benefits

The new scanning method also allowed the team to quantify the degree of improvement in ventilation when patients have a treatment, in this case a widely used inhaler, the bronchodilator, salbutamol.

This shows that the imaging methods could be valuable in clinical trials of new treatments of lung disease.

"There is potential for this scan method to be used in the clinical management of lung transplant recipients and other lung diseases in the future", the researchers said.

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