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Published on: January 16, 2015
CT-derived Biomechanical Metrics Improve Agreement Between Spirometry and Emphysema
Surya P Bhatt1, Sandeep Bodduluri2, John D Newell2
1Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama 35294; UAB Lung Health Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama 35294.
Biomechanical lung properties measured by CT scans, such as Jacobian determinants and strain, help explain discrepancies between airflow obstruction and emphysema in COPD patients. These CT-derived lung mechanics metrics offer new insights into COPD.
Area of Science:
- Pulmonary Medicine
- Radiology
- Biophysics
Background:
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients often show discordance between spirometry (FEV1) and CT-emphysema severity.
- Biomechanical factors contributing to this discordance are not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate biomechanical differences in COPD patients with varying degrees of spirometry-CT discordance.
- To identify CT-derived biomechanical markers that explain the disconnect between lung function and emphysema.
Main Methods:
- Categorized COPD patients into groups based on FEV1 and CT emphysema discordance (Catspir, CatCT, Catmatched).
- Utilized image registration to derive Jacobian determinants, anisotropy, and strain tensors to assess lung biomechanics.
- Employed regression models to evaluate the predictive power of biomechanical metrics on COPD categories.
Main Results:
- Jacobian determinants, anisotropy, and strain tensors were significantly associated with FEV1.
- Biomechanical CT metrics, particularly Jacobian mean and coefficient of variation (CV) of Jacobian and strain, improved the prediction of spirometry-CT discordance categories.
- CVs of Jacobian and strain emerged as potential markers for biomechanical lung heterogeneity in COPD.
Conclusions:
- CT-derived lung mechanics measurements enhance the correlation between quantitative CT and spirometry in COPD.
- These biomechanical insights may elucidate the relationship between regional lung damage and global lung function decline in COPD.
