Controlled, Parametric, Individualized, 3D SPECT Measurements of respiratory Tract Deposition in Healthy Subjects Compared to Analytical Simulations

MARINE PICHELIN (1), Georges Caillibotte (1), Ira Katz (1,2), Joy Conway (3), John Fleming (4), Caroline Majoral (1), Diane Perchet (1), Ted Martonen (5,6), Gabriela Apiou-Sbirlea (1), Livia Tossici-Bolt (4), Bernhard Muellinger (7)

(1) Medical Gases Group, Air Liquide R&D CRCD, Les-Loges-en-Josas, France, (2) Department of Mechanical Engineering, Lafayette College, Easton, PA, USA, (3) School of Health Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK, (4) Department of Medical Physics and Bioengineering, Southampton University Hospitals, NHS Trust, Southampton, UK, (5) CyberMedicine, Laguna Beach, CA, USA, (6) Department of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA, (7) Activaero GmbH, Gemünden, Germany

     Abstract Number: 324
     Last modified: May 7, 2010

Abstract
Controlled, parametric, 3-D Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) measurements of respiratory tract deposition have been performed in healthy volunteers. The primary goal of the study is to provide regional, generational, and spatial deposition data that can validate and provide guidance for the refinement of deposition models. This project is, to our knowledge, the first study designed to measure human respiratory tract deposition in vivo specifically to provide data for the understanding of predictive models. The study structure follows a parametric design of experiments concept; i.e., large and small particle size, fast and slow breathing, air and helium-oxygen (78/22). To individualize the study and assess intersubject variability, all of the volunteers underwent a high resolution computed tomography (HRCT) scan of the full (excluding the nasal cavity and the nasal pharynx) respiratory tract and the lung envelope. Results are presented in the form of spatial deposition fractions that are compared with analytical calculations.