Evaluation of an integrated 133Xe regional pulmonary-function analyzer.

An integrated system for diagnostic, quantitative, static and dynamic, regional pulmonary-function analysis--both ventilation and perfusion--using 133Xe has recently been developed by Ohio-Nuclear. This paper considers this equipment in a clinical setting and describes the results obtained from 50 normal subjects. Functionally, the analyzer was found to be satisfactory and its operation simple and easy to learn. Patient discomfort is minimal and the complete ventilation-perfusion analysis can be performed and reported in less than 30 min. The results from normal subjects were comparable with published results.