Project Description:

Thoracic computed tomography (CT) imaging provides physicians treating patients with chronic lung disease a means to evaluate disease state and treatment efficacy. When undergoing these scans, pediatric patients are often sedated under general anesthesia and placed on a ventilator, where their respiration is managed by an anesthetist. Some critical imaging features, such as air trapping or bronchiectasis, are best visualized at specific points in the respiratory cycle while the patient’s breath is held. Currently, a complete breath hold is achieved by the anesthetist manually compressing a bag-valve or pressing down on an infant’s chest, introducing variability in inspiratory and expiratory volumes across scans. Our device automates the breath-holding process for pediatric thoracic imaging by continuously monitoring lung volume in real time. When the patient reaches a predefined lung volume—either maximum inspiration or expiration—a single in-line occlusion valve automatically closes to halt airflow, maintaining a stable lung volume for the CT scan. Our device reduces image-to-image and inter-operator variability, improving lung image quality and improving patient outcomes.