Grenoble University Hospital, Department of Pulmonology and Clinical Physiology, France; Synchrotron Radiation for Biomedicine (STROBE) Laboratory, INSERM UA7, University of Grenoble Alps, Grenoble, France.
Department of Physics, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland; Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland.
Phys Med. 2020 Nov;79:22-35. doi: 10.1016/j.ejmp.2020.10.001. Epub 2020 Oct 15.
Many lung disease processes are characterized by structural and functional heterogeneity that is not directly appreciable with traditional physiological measurements. Experimental methods and lung function modeling to study regional lung function are crucial for better understanding of disease mechanisms and for targeting treatment. Synchrotron radiation offers useful properties to this end: coherence, utilized in phase-contrast imaging, and high flux and a wide energy spectrum which allow the selection of very narrow energy bands of radiation, thus allowing imaging at very specific energies. K-edge subtraction imaging (KES) has thus been developed at synchrotrons for both human and small animal imaging. The unique properties of synchrotron radiation extend X-ray computed tomography (CT) capabilities to quantitatively assess lung morphology, and also to map regional lung ventilation, perfusion, inflammation and biomechanical properties, with microscopic spatial resolution. Four-dimensional imaging, allows the investigation of the dynamics of regional lung functional parameters simultaneously with structural deformation of the lung as a function of time. This review summarizes synchrotron radiation imaging methods and overviews examples of its application in the study of disease mechanisms in preclinical animal models, as well as the potential for clinical translation both through the knowledge gained using these techniques and transfer of imaging technology to laboratory X-ray sources.
许多肺部疾病的过程的特点是结构和功能的异质性，这是不能直接用传统的生理测量来感知的。研究区域肺功能的实验方法和肺功能建模对于更好地理解疾病机制和靶向治疗至关重要。同步加速器辐射为此提供了有用的特性：相干性，用于相衬成像，以及高通量和宽能谱，允许选择非常窄的辐射能带，从而可以在非常特定的能量下进行成像。因此，在同步加速器上已经开发了用于人体和小动物成像的 K 边差减成像（KES）。同步加速器辐射的独特特性扩展了 X 射线计算机断层扫描（CT）的功能，能够定量评估肺形态，还能够绘制区域肺通气、灌注、炎症和生物力学特性的图谱，具有微观空间分辨率。四维成像允许同时研究区域肺功能参数的动态，以及肺的结构变形随时间的变化。这篇综述总结了同步加速器辐射成像方法，并概述了其在临床前动物模型疾病机制研究中的应用实例，以及通过使用这些技术获得的知识和将成像技术转移到实验室 X 射线源来进行临床转化的潜力。
