New technique uses ultrasound to measure fluid levels in the lungs

A noninvasive imaging technique has been devised that uses ultrasound to measure levels of fluid in the lungs.

Engineering and medical researchers from North Carolina State University have found a way to use ultrasound to to track progress in treating pulmonary oedema, which often occurs in patients with congestive heart failure, as well as for diagnosing scarring in the lung.

Previously, ultrasound scans of the lungs have been of limited use, as the air inside the lungs reflect the energy rather than allowing it to pass through. This new technique gets around this by taking advantage of the scattering effect caused when ultrasound waves hit air pockets in the lung.

Since the waves bounce in different directions as they travel through the lung, echoes take different amounts of time to return to the scanner. The new method uses this information to calculate the extent to which the space between the air pockets is filled with fluid.

The technique has proven effective in studies involving rats, and can be performed using conventional ultrasound scanning equipment once the proper algorithm is incorporated into the ultrasound software.

Study co-author Marie Muller, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at North Carolina State University, said: "Historically, it has been difficult to use ultrasound to collect quantitative information on the lung … However, we've been able to use the reflective nature of air pockets in the lung to calculate the amount of fluid in the lung."

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