Patients, scanning and proper breathing…
June 16, 2010
Having your patients hold their breath properly during a MR or CT scan is always a challenge, especially when your patients are infants. Mueller et al. have come up with a simple volume-monitored (VM) method for performing reproducible, motion-free full inspiratory and end expiratory chest CT examinations in children. They tested the method on
fifty-two children with cystic fibrosis (mean age 8.8 ± 2.2 years). They underwent pulmonary function tests and inspiratory and expiratory VM-CT scans (1.25-mm slices, 80–120 kVp, 16–40 mAs) according to an IRB-approved protocol. The VM-CT technique utilizes instruction from a respiratory therapist, a portable spirometer and real-time documentation of lung volume on a computer. CT image quality was evaluated for achievement of targeted lung-volume levels and for respiratory motion. Overall, 94% of scans were performed at optimal volumes without respiratory motion. This method is applicable to children older than 4 years-old.
A drawback of the method, though, is the fact that the respiratory therapist has to stay in the room while the scan is being performed, with all the risks of radiation.
For more information you can read the whole article, published online in Pediatric Radiology (May 28, 2010): Volume-monitored chest CT: a simplified method for obtaining motion-free images near full inspiratory and end expiratory lung volumes
