Update on radiology of emphysema and therapeutic implications

Emerging treatments require appropriate CT targeting of a selected lobe or lobes and target airways to obtain a successful response. CT scan is used in pretreatment planning to select patients and plan treatment strategy and posttreatment to confirm correct deployment of devices and assess treatment response. Increasingly treatments are being developed to treat patients who have emphysema who require accurate quantitation of extent and distribution of the process. Functional assessment can be made by inference of detailed anatomic correlates and by direct measurement of regional function using dynamic scan protocols. This article summarizes the current role of imaging in the assessment of patients who have emphysema.