Functional Analysis of Lung Transplants
The computer vision system automatically generates plots of median attenuation (HU) and cross-sectional area vs. time during the expiratory maneuver. These graphs indicate the comparative rate of increasing attenuation and decreasing area that reflect the change of air content and volume consequent on airflow.
The images below show QIA on a functional CT study in a patient with emphysema. The native, emphysematous right lung shows relatively little change in attenuation and area compared with the transplant left lung. Thus QIA is able to provide comparative information about the individual lungs that is not possible with conventional PFTs that provide only global measures of lung function.
The images below show segmentation of three images (of a total of 12) from a dynamic (flow) series from an emphysema patient post-single lung transplant. Images were acquired on an electron beam CT scanner (EBT).
Segmented images from a dynamic (flow) series from an emphysema patient post-single lung transplant.
Graphs from a flow study showing indices of individual lung function for a native right lung and transplant left lung: plot of median attenuation vs. time during an expiratory maneuver; plot of cross-sectional area vs. time.
