New Delhi . A team of scientists has developed a new method of scanning lungs, one that can see if transplanted lungs are functioning properly in real time.
With the help of the scanning method, the team, led by researchers at Newcastle University in Britain, was able to see how air flows in and out of the lungs as patients with asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and lung transplants breathe.
Andrew Fisher, Professor of Respiratory Transplant Medicine at Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Newcastle University UK, said: “We hope that this new type of scan will allow us to detect changes in transplanted lungs even before signs of damage are seen with normal blowing tests. This will enable treatment to begin sooner and help prevent further damage to the transplanted lungs.
In the study published in Radiology and JHLT Open, the team described how they used a special gas called perfluoropropane, which can be seen on an MRI scanner.
The gas can be safely breathed in and out by the patient, and then scanned to see where the gas has reached the lungs.
Professor Pete Thelwall, project leader at Newcastle University, said: “Our scans reveal where ventilation is not working properly in patients suffering from lung disease and also reveal which parts of the lungs improve with treatment. It has happened.
According to the researchers, this scanning method is likely to be used in the clinical management of lung transplant cases and other lung diseases in the future.
–
– .
Image Credit: KhasKhabar.