Lung Strain Imaging

The study of lung mechanics to improve understanding of disease is important to futureproof resilience against potential novel threats to lung health. Medical imaging provides insight to lung health and function in a given instant. Dynamic imaging provides mechanical insight to enhance understanding of lung function. The use of digital volume correlation (DVC) in combination with high-resolution micro-CT imaging and in situ mechanics is gaining popularity for quantifying local and global mechanical behavior of various biomaterials, including bone and lung among others. This project uses a suite of tools to study mechanically ventilated lungs at SPring-8 and Diamond Light Source, performing high-speed tomography to capture regional tissue strains in health and disease. These studies quantified the degree of overdistension for a given airway pressure in diseased lungs. Approaches shown here provide insight to local versus global loading and burden of the lung. These techniques can contribute towards improved structural health monitoring and management of diseased lungs. The research was funded by the Royal Society with support from SPring-8 and Diamond Light Source.