COMPUTER-SIMULATIONS OF LUNG MORPHOLOGIES WITHIN PLANAR GAMMA-CAMERA IMAGES

A mathematical model and computer code have been developed to unambigu ously interpret planar gamma camera images. Specifically, the algorith m permits airway composition of the central, intermediate and peripher al partitions of scans to be determined quantitatively. The algorithm unambigously identifies the spatial coordinates of each of the million s of airways within the adult human lung, and assigns every individual airway to a precise location within the gamma camera image format pre scribed by the clinician. This is done on a patient-by-patient basis. The algorithm has evolved from clinical applications of the previous w ork of Martonen ei al. [1]. The objective of the current work was to a dvance the original protocol and derive an algorithm that was: (1) fro m a medical perspective, more physiologically realistic; and (2) from a technical perspective, easier to apply in the medical arena. Regardi ng (1), the major elements of the algorithm are that the outer boundar y of the lung is formulated directly from lung perfusion imaging data and that the lung is divided into distinct left and right components. Regarding (2), the algorithm has been written for use with common work stations. It is our hope that the improvements will facilitate applica tions of the new model-code into aerosol therapy regimens.