Role of Advanced Imaging Techniques in Detection of Respiratory Diseases

Advancement in imaging modalities allows the functional evaluation of pulmonary region in patients with respiratory illness. This review represents the present state of the art in respiratory imaging & incorporates recent developments in medical imaging technology when combined with machine learning skills for pulmonary diagnosis and treatment. Modalities like CT have come up with advances in imaging techniques that include Parametric response mapping & jacobian determinant that allow functional evaluation of small airway disease and local volume changes among expiration & inspiration phases, followed by dynamic CT, which combines with xenon and allows visualization of congenital hyperlucent lesions in the lung and areas of poor ventilation in COPD patients. Imaging of the pulmonary region in MRI has been made possible by using fluorine-19 gas ventilation and xenon-129 hyperpolarized gas, as they have the capability to evaluate global and regional patterns of lung ventilation directly and in addition to it development of advance MR sequences for lung imaging. DCR has already been concluded in clinical practice in Japan, as it has less radiation exposure as compared to chest radiography and can detect diaphragmatic movement, which is a key factor to assess in patients undergoing COPD. SPECT can accurately identify ventilation/perfusion (V/Q) mismatches and detect pulmonary embolism patients' situations where ventilation/perfusion is amazingly identical, such as the pulmonary infarction zone. LUS and EIT can easily determine conditions like pulmonary edema, pneumothorax, and acute respiratory distress syndrome, while EIT monitors lung perfusion that reflects tissue health in the early stages of pulmonary illness.