Parametric modeling for quantitative analysis of pulmonary structure to function relationships

While lung anatomy is well understood, pulmonary structure-to-function relationships such as the complex elastic deformation of the lung during respiration are less well documented. Current methods for studying lung anatomy include conventional chest radiography, high-resolution computed tomography (CT scan) and magnetic resonance imaging with polarized gases (MRI scan). Pulmonary physiology can be studied using spirometry or V/Q nuclear medicine tests (V/Q scan). V/Q scanning and MRI scans may demonstrate global and regional function. However, each of these individual imaging methods lacks the ability to provide high-resolution anatomic detail, associated pulmonary mechanics and functional variability of the entire respiratory cycle. Specifically, spirometry provides only a one-dimensional gross estimate of pulmonary function, and V/Q scans have poor spatial resolution, reducing its potential for regional assessment of structure-to-function relationships. We have developed a method which utilizes standard clinical CT scanning to provide data for computation of dynamic anatomic parametric models of the lung during respiration which correlates high-resolution anatomy to underlying physiology. The lungs are segmented from both inspiration and expiration three-dimensional (3D) data sets and transformed into a geometric description of the surface of the lung. Parametric mapping of lung surface deformation then provides a visual and quantitative description of the mechanical properties of the lung. Any alteration in lung mechanics is manifest by alterations in normal deformation of the lung wall. The method produces a high-resolution anatomic and functional composite picture from sparse temporal-spatial methods which quantitatively illustrates detailed anatomic structure to pulmonary function relationships impossible for translational methods to provide.