A Simple Endoscopic Technique for Measuring the Cross-Sectional Area of the Upper Airway in a Rabbit Model

Area of Science:

• Medical imaging
• Respiratory physiology
• Surgical anatomy

Background:

• Accurate measurement of upper airway cross-sectional area (CSA) is crucial for diagnosing and managing various respiratory conditions.
• Existing methods may lack accuracy, reproducibility, or clinical applicability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To validate a novel, simple, accurate, and reproducible method for measuring the upper airway's cross-sectional area (CSA).

Main Methods:

• A prospective animal study was conducted using a 0° rod telescope to capture airway images.
• Control images of endotracheal tubes and in vivo images from a subglottic stenosis study were obtained.
• Three blinded raters measured the narrowest portion of the airway CSA using open-source image analysis software.

Main Results:

• The method demonstrated high accuracy, with no significant difference between measured and known CSAs of control images (average error 1.5%).
• Excellent intrarater agreement (ICC > 0.75) and interrater reliability (ICC = 0.975 for control, 0.846 for in vivo images) were observed.
• The technique proved reliable across different image types and among multiple independent raters.

Conclusions:

• A simple, accurate, and reproducible method for measuring airway CSA has been validated.
• This technique is suitable for application in both clinical and research settings for airway evaluation.
• The validated method facilitates precise assessment of airway dimensions, aiding in diagnosis and treatment planning.