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Updated: Mar 12, 2026

Evaluating Regional Pulmonary Deposition using Patient-Specific 3D Printed Lung Models
Published on: November 11, 2020
SPECT-CT Comparison of Lung Deposition using a System combining a Vibrating-mesh Nebulizer with a Valved Holding
Jonathan Dugernier1,2,3, Michel Hesse4, Rita Vanbever5
1Institut de Recherche Expérimentale et Clinique (IREC), Pneumologie, ORL & Dermatologie, Cliniques universitaires Saint-Luc, Avenue Hippocrate 10, 1200, Brussels, Belgium. Jonathan.dugernier@uclouvain.be.
Purpose:
To compare in vivo the total and regional pulmonary deposition of aerosol particles generated by a new system combining a vibrating-mesh nebulizer with a specific valved holding chamber and constant-output jet nebulizer connected to a corrugated tube.
Methods:
Cross-over study comparing aerosol delivery to the lungs using two nebulizers in 6 healthy male subjects: a vibrating-mesh nebulizer combined with a valved holding chamber (Aerogen Ultra®, Aerogen Ltd., Galway, Ireland) and a jet nebulizer connected to a corrugated tube (Opti-Mist Plus Nebulizer®, ConvaTec, Bridgewater, NJ). Nebulizers were filled with diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid labelled with technetium-99 m (99mTc-DTPA, 2 mCi/4 mL). Pulmonary deposition of 99mTc-DTPA was measured by single-photon emission computed tomography combined with a low dose CT-scan (SPECT-CT).
Results:
Pulmonary aerosol deposition from SPECT-CT analysis was six times increased with the vibrating-mesh nebulizer as compared to the jet nebulizer (34.1 ± 6.0% versus 5.2 ± 1.1%, p < 0.001). However, aerosol penetration expressed as the three-dimensional normalized ratio of the outer and the inner regions of the lungs was similar between both nebulizers.
Conclusions:
This study demonstrated the high superiority of the new system combining a vibrating-mesh nebulizer with a valved holding chamber to deliver nebulized particles into the lungs as comparted to a constant-output jet nebulizer with a corrugated tube.
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