Speaker
Description
Regional Lung volume is a key parameter in assessing lung function and health. Computed Tomography (CT) is considered the gold standard for measuring lung volume; however, it requires a relatively high radiation dose and typically has associated lower spatial and temporal resolution than X-ray projection imaging. In this work, we investigate whether regional lung volumes can be determined using 2D X-ray projections. The idea is that as the lung inflates with air, the attenuating tissue is displaced leading to a localised increase in X-ray intensity. We imaged 13 New Zealand white rabbit kittens using high-resolution X-ray imaging and CT at the IMBL at various airway pressures. From the 2D projections, we converted changes in regional X-ray intensity through the lungs to changes in lung air volume using the Beer-Lambert law, under the assumption that the lungs of the animal were comprised of a single material (water). We measured the true air volumes from CT data for comparison. We found that relative changes in regional lung air volume derived from the 2D x-ray projections showed a coefficient of determination ($\mathrm{R}^2$) of 0.97 with CT data. This technique, therefore, provides a high speed, low dose method for measuring regional changes in lung volume that we are now using for studying lung aeration at birth in preclinical animal models.
| Condition of submission | Yes |
|---|---|
| Do you wish to take part in the Student Poster Slam | No |
| Which facility did you use for your research | Australian Synchrotron |
| Pronouns | He/Him |
| Level of Expertise | Student |
| Presenter Gender | Man |
| Students Only - Are you interested in AINSE student funding | Yes |
