Abstract:

BACKGROUND: With the development of CT imaging technology, CT images can clearly display pulmonary structure and measure pulmonary function. It is a new method for evaluation and research of pulmonary function.
OBJECTIVE: To summarize the analysis index and clinical application of CT pulmonary function, so as to early discover and accurately monitor respiratory diseases in clinic.
METHODS: Articles about imaging indexes and clinical applications of CT pulmonary function were searched from CNKI and PubMed, published between January 1989 and May 2010 with key words “computed tomography, pulmonary function, quantitative CT” in both Chinese and English. We mainly selected these articles in the authoritative journals or recently published. A total of 26 Chinese articles and 287 English articles were collected, and 20 articles were included in the final analysis.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: CT pulmonary function could reflect the changes of pulmonary function by measurement of lung volume, density and pixel index, so as to reveal the pathological anatomy and pathophysiology of pulmonary tissues. It is a valuable method to early discover and monitor respiratory diseases. CT pulmonary function measurement can be used in quantitative analysis of chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases and emphysema, prediction of pulmonary functional reserve after lung cancer surgery.