Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA.
Topcon Advanced Biomedical Imaging Laboratory, Topcon Healthcare, Oakland, NJ, 07436, USA.
Sci Rep. 2024 Jul 16;14(1):16350. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-66390-6.
Chronic interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) require frequent point-of-care monitoring. X-ray-based methods lack resolution and are ionizing. Chest computerized tomographic (CT) scans are expensive and provide more radiation. Conventional ultrasound can detect severe lung damage via vertical artifacts (B-lines). However, this information is not quantitative, and the appearance of B-lines is operator- and system-dependent. Here we demonstrate novel ultrasound-based biomarkers to assess severity of ILDs. Lung alveoli scatter ultrasound waves, leading to a complex acoustic signature, which is affected by changes in alveolar density due to ILDs. We exploit ultrasound scattering in the lung and combine quantitative ultrasound (QUS) parameters, to develop ultrasound-based biomarkers that significantly correlate (p = 1e for edema and p = 3e for fibrosis) to the severity of pulmonary fibrosis and edema in rodent lungs. These innovative QUS biomarkers will be very significant for monitoring severity of chronic ILDs and response to treatment, especially in this new era of miniaturized and highly portable ultrasound devices.
慢性间质性肺疾病（ILDs）需要频繁的即时护理监测。基于 X 射线的方法分辨率不足且具有电离性。胸部计算机断层扫描（CT）扫描既昂贵又提供更多辐射。传统超声可以通过垂直伪影（B 线）检测严重的肺部损伤。然而，这些信息是非定量的，B 线的出现取决于操作者和系统。在这里，我们展示了新的基于超声的生物标志物来评估ILDs 的严重程度。肺肺泡会散射超声波，导致复杂的声学特征，而ILDs 导致的肺泡密度变化会影响该特征。我们利用肺部的超声散射，并结合定量超声（QUS）参数，开发出与肺部纤维化和水肿的严重程度显著相关（水肿的 p=1e，纤维化的 p=3e）的基于超声的生物标志物。这些创新的 QUS 生物标志物对于监测慢性ILDs 的严重程度和治疗反应非常重要，尤其是在微型化和高度便携的超声设备的新时代。
