Study of the ventilation of middle ear using radioactive xenon

The greatest contribution of nuclear medicine has been to make possible dynamic measurements of regional function. It is conceivable that if this technology could be successfully used to measure the ventilation and clearance of the middle ear, answers to some of the most crucial problems in otology may be found. The objectives of this paper are three-fold: 1) A descriptive account of radiotracers and radiodetectors with emphasis on Xenon133. 2) The development of scintillographic techniques for the dynamic study of the ventilation of the ear and sinuses. 3) The methods that are being explored for the quantification of these functions.