Researchers at the University of Sheffield have developed innovative technology which illuminates a person’s lungs and helps clinicians identify if they are functioning correctly. The new technology could result in earlier diagnosis of emphysema and smoking related damage, as well as other lung conditions and diseases.
Lung diseases are of growing concern to the health of the nation, with people suffering from conditions as mild as asthma or as severe as lung cancer. By detecting lung damage early, doctors could help slow down or stop the conditions.
The technique developed at Sheffield involves a person inhaling small amounts of harmless hyperpolarised (HP) noble gases (Helium-3 and Xenon-129), which are then imaged inside an MRI scanner. The gases are hyperpolarised using high power lasers by a process called optical pumping. The high resolution images of the airspaces that are produced offer additional functional information that is currently not available with traditional X-rays and lung CT scans.
The first clinical studies using this novel method have been carried out at the University of Sheffield, with the University holding the only UK regulatory licence to administer hyperpolarised gases for lung imaging.
Images obtained of lungs so far are shedding new light on a variety of different lung conditions and diseases. Tests carried out on smokers, for example, have shown signs of early emphysema.
The technology has also been used to help detect the early stages of lung obstruction in children with Cystic Fibrosis, something which a traditional X-ray would miss. The technique also allows repeated investigations in children without the fear of radiation exposure.
The researchers are also now looking at using the technology to assess inhaled therapies for asthma patients and help plan radiotherapy treatment in patients with lung cancer.
Jim Wild, a physicist from the University’s Academic Unit of Radiology and the lead academic involved in the project, said: “The images produced are providing clinicians with functional information of the lungs that has previously been unattainable. The high sensitivity of the technology means that it offers real hope for detecting lung damage early.
“Being able to detect lung conditions and disease at an early stage could radically affect the lifespan and quality of life of patients. For children with cystic fibrosis it means that, with the right treatment, they could live longer. Patients who have successfully stopped smoking can also see how they can halt or slow down the damage being done to their lungs.”
Source: University of Sheffield
Related stories:
Gene therapy increases survival for end-stage head and neck cancer
A gene therapy invented at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center is the first to succeed in a U.S. phase III clinical trial for cancer, as announced today at the American Society of Gene Therapy annual meeting in Boston.
Chemistry of Airborne Particulate -- Lung Interactions Revealed
Exactly how airborne particulates harm our lungs still puzzles epidemiologists, physicians, environmental scientists, and policy makers. Now California Institute of Technology researchers have found that they act by impairing the lungs' natural defenses against ozone.
Combined physical and genetic map finds cancer's 'ignition key'
Whole-organ maps that superimpose genetic information over the terrain of cancerous bladders chart the molecular journey from normal cell to invasive cancer, an international research team led by scientists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center reports online at the journal
Laboratory Investigation, a member of the Nature Publishing Group.
Gene chips used to distinguish ventilator-associated pneumonia from underlying critical illness
Critically ill patients who need a ventilator to breathe face a high risk of pneumonia. The lung infection, however, is exceedingly difficult to diagnose because a patient's underlying condition often skews laboratory test results and masks pneumonia's symptoms – a reality that can delay appropriate antibiotic treatment.
China's biotech industry: An Asian dragon is growing
Backed by a government intent on promoting innovation and fuelled by the “brain gain” of talented scientists and entrepreneurs returning from abroad, China’s health biotech industry only needs a more favourable investment climate to emerge as a global force in the production of therapies and medicines – both new and low-cost generics – experts say in a new study.
Shining light on pancreatic cancer
Using novel light-scattering techniques, researchers have found the first evidence that early stage pancreatic cancer causes subtle changes in part of the small intestine. The easily monitored marker may ultimately allow early detection for a disease notorious for having few obvious symptoms, the primary reason pancreatic cancer killed more than 33,000 Americans last year.
Astronomers predict the future health of unborn babies
Astrophysicists at the University of Sussex are using their statistical expertise to help save the lives of unborn babies.
Ethanol vehicles pose a significant risk to human health, study finds
Ethanol is widely touted as an eco-friendly, clean-burning fuel. But if every vehicle in the United States ran on fuel made primarily from ethanol instead of pure gasoline, the number of respiratory-related deaths and hospitalizations would likely increase, according to a new study by Stanford University atmospheric scientist Mark Z. Jacobson. His findings are published in the April 18 online edition of the journal
Environmental Science & Technology.
