Vanderbilt University Institute of Imaging Science (VUIIS) has added a breakthrough X-ray technology — the first of its kind at an academic medical center — capable of measuring how individual areas of the lung are functioning as breaths are taken.
The X-ray velocimetry (XV) scanner combines fluoroscopy, a type of X-ray imaging that allows real-time visualization of body structures, with analytical software to visually document the lung’s air flow as color heat maps. This allows a correlation of the lung’s function to the lung’s structures.
While fluoroscopy is widely available, the new research scanner allows very high-quality images to be obtained in just a few seconds. Sophisticated computer algorithms are used to estimate ventilation from lung movement.
“This X-ray velocimetry scanner may very well change the landscape when it comes to how some lung diseases and dysfunctions are diagnosed,” said John Gore, PhD, director of VUIIS and Hertha Ramsey Cress Professor of Medicine. “It is a noninvasive, rapid imaging method that involves minimal radiation exposure. It takes just a couple of normal breaths to capture invaluable information to better diagnose previously elusive disease processes.”
“This will be an important tool in translational research in lung health, and our hope is that this technology will be used by investigators throughout VUMC.”
While this new imaging technology at VUIIS is initially being used only for research, early indications are that this innovation could lead to earlier, more accurate diagnosis and treatment for individuals with hard-to-pinpoint respiratory issues. This includes military veterans who have had exposure to toxic burn pits, chemicals and pollutants, patients who develop lung complications after lung or stem cell transplants, and other conditions.
“There are several ways to measure function of the entire lung, but being able to break this down to see how parts of the lung are functioning as a person breathes is really groundbreaking,” said Bradley Richmond, MD, PhD, assistant professor of Allergy, Pulmonary, and Critical Care. “In addition, the procedure is safe and easy to perform so it can be used repeatedly to check in on lung function over time.”
An estimated 3.5 million post-9/11 veterans were exposed to burn pits and other toxic particulate matter while on deployment. The Sgt. First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act, otherwise known as the PACT Act, was signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2023 to expand Department of Veterans Affairs medical care to these veterans.
A group of VUMC pulmonologists, surgeons, pathologists and scientists collaborated for nearly two decades to gather and present the evidence to support passage of the PACT Act that these veterans were potentially left with life-changing lung injuries and needed appropriate care.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has been tasked with meeting the screening and diagnostic needs of veterans covered by the PACT Act and has funded research into XV for this purpose.
“As pulmonologists and imaging specialists, we were watching as this technology was being developed, and we wanted to be among the first to test it,” Richmond said. “In the future, this could become an important method for diagnosing lung disease, possibly even in cases where currently available diagnostics do not reveal definitive areas of concern. I am excited VUIIS has brought this technology to Vanderbilt for testing across a range of lung conditions.”
