A team from New Castle University reports a new lung imaging technology to more accurately assess the organ's function. The examination is carried out in two stages: first, patients are asked to inhale a special gas called perfluoropropane, which is safe for humans, several times, and then a standard magnetic resonance imaging of the lungs is carried out.
The scientists chose perfluoropropane because it shows up on MRI scanners, allowing doctors to see which parts of the lungs are getting oxygen and which are not.
"Signs of non-uniform ventilation are very important for early diagnosis, assessing the consequences of progressive chronic disease or, for example, determining lung function after a recent transplant," the scientists explained.
So far, they have confirmed the high diagnostic efficiency in patients with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, as well as in several people after lung transplantation. The authors hope that their approach will soon become widespread, which will improve the quality and speed of disease detection.
Meanwhile, the world's first fully robotic lung transplant was performed in the United States. The Da Vinci Xi system performed a double lung transplant on a 57-year-old woman with COPD.