[Imaging and measurement of global and regional airflow in the lung using a radioactive gas]

In this paper it is shown how "circumscribed" movements of air within the lungs, such as those occurring during respiration, can be visualized and measured with the aid of the radio-active gas krypton 81 m. With this new examination technique, the previously employed procedures used for investigating the lungs have been expanded: In the imaging procedures sector, function patterns of regional ventilation can now be recognized, while the diagnostic evaluation of pulmonary function is complemented by the regional identification of disturbed and undisturbed ventilation. The equipment required for the examination is available in any nuclear medical department, and the methodology is relatively simple. The use of such studies is described on the basis of two clinical cases: The findings obtained with this new procedure clearly demonstrate the expansion of the diagnostic evaluation, and already point to the indications. Since 1982, we have carried out some 1,500 investigations of pulmonary ventilation. On the basis of the experience thus gained, a spectrum of indications can be established, and this is represented in the "Discussion". The inert gas, krypton, which is both odourless and chemically inert and has optimal physical properties for nuclear medical studies, has been shown by our investigations to be highly suitable for sophisticated analyses of pulmonary function, also in the severe-ill patient. Properly and rationally employed, the procedure is economical, and the radiation exposure low.