New imaging software has given doctors the world’s first four-dimensional (4D) look into the lungs of a COVID long-hauler. Experts say this FDA-approved technology can help guide physicians in choosing which targeted therapy may be best for their patients.*

4D imaging offers new insights

A few days after Amy Dutrisac and her family got COVID-19, her daughter’s and husband’s symptoms started to improve. Unfortunately, her symptoms only got worse. After meeting with a pulmonologist, Dutrisac was one of the first people in the world to undergo a ground-breaking diagnostic scan of her lungs using 4D imaging.

This new technology has been approved by the FDA, and specialists say it can measure how well different areas of the lungs receive oxygen.

“It actually can measure air coming in from your upper lung on the right, lower lung on the right, upper lung on the left, [and] lower lung on the left,” says Ray Casciari, M.D., pulmonology specialist at Providence St. Joseph Hospital in Orange, California.

How does it work?

Using a specific type of technology, physicians can use the fluoroscopy imaging equipment already in hospitals to simultaneously take multiple x-ray images from different angles.

The images are then entered into the new software where special algorithms convert the scans into a single, color-coded 4D image. This allows physicians to quickly see where defects in the lungs are occurring, something other imaging technology, such as an X-ray or CT scan, can not do.

“The areas of poor ventilation, we’re going to code them red,” says Casciari. “The areas of normal ventilation, we’re going to code them green, and the areas of increased ventilation, we’re going to code them blue.”

A more targeted approach to treatment

The technology has made a world of a difference for Dutrisac. Using the 4D image, her doctor was able to see that the outside edges of her lungs were not receiving any oxygen. Knowing the specific areas of the lungs that were affected helped guide him in deciding which targeted therapies could be the most effective for her.

This enhanced imaging could help the millions of Americans experiencing persistent pulmonary symptoms of COVID-19, as well as those with other lung conditions, such as: 

• Influenza,
• Asthma, and
• Veterans with burn pit complications.

As for Dutrisac, since treatment, she says, all of her symptoms, including her labored breathing, have subsided. “It shed light where light needed to be shed.”

*KSAT 12. (2022, December 10). World’s first 4D scan of long COVID lungs changing how doctors diagnose, treat virus [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6Yw8GaQVUY