Herein a propagation-based phase contrast x-ray imaging technique for measuring particle size and number is presented. This is achieved with an algorithm that utilizes the Fourier space signature of the speckle pattern associated with the images of particles. We validate this algorithm using soda-lime glass particles, demonstrating its effectiveness on random and non-randomly packed particles. This technique is then applied to characterise lung alveoli, which are difficult to measure dynamically in vivo with current imaging modalities due to inadequate temporal resolution and/or depth of penetration and field-of-view. We obtain an important result in that our algorithm is able to measure changes in alveolar size on the micron scale during ventilation and shows the presence of alveolar recruitment/de-recruitment in newborn rabbit kittens. This technique will be useful for ventilation management and lung diagnostic procedures.

Respiratory health is directly linked to the structural and mechanical properties of the airways of the lungs. For studying respiratory development and pathology, the ability to quantitatively measure airway dimensions and changes in their size during respiration is highly desirable. Real-time imaging of the terminal airways with sufficient contrast and resolution during respiration is currently not possible. Herein we reveal a simple method for measuring lung airway dimensions in small animals during respiration from a single propagation-based phase contrast x-ray image, thereby requiring minimal radiation. This modality renders the lungs visible as a speckled intensity pattern. In the near-field regime, the size of the speckles is directly correlated with that of the dominant length scale of the airways. We demonstrate that Fourier space quantification of the speckle texture can be used to statistically measure regional airway dimensions at the alveolar scale, with measurement precision finer than the spatial resolution of the imaging system. Using this technique we discovered striking differences in developmental maturity in the lungs of rabbit kittens at birth.

Propagation-based phase contrast x-ray (PBX) imaging yields high contrast images of the lung where airways that overlap in projection coherently scatter the x-rays, giving rise to a speckled intensity due to interference effects. Our previous works have shown that total and regional changes in lung air volumes can be accurately measured from two-dimensional (2D) absorption or phase contrast images when the subject is immersed in a water-filled container. In this paper we demonstrate how the phase contrast speckle patterns can be used to directly measure absolute regional lung air volumes from 2D PBX images without the need for a water-filled container. We justify this technique analytically and via simulation using the transport-of-intensity equation and calibrate the technique using our existing methods for measuring lung air volume. Finally, we show the full capabilities of this technique for measuring regional differences in lung aeration.

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This paper presents an image segmentation technique based on temporal subtraction that has successfully been used to isolate the lungs from PBI chest images, allowing the change in lung air volume to be measured over regions as small as the pixel size. Using this technique, it is possible to measure changes in regional lung volume at high spatial and temporal resolution during breathing at much lower x-ray dose than would be required using computed tomography.

Antenatal glucocorticoids, exogenous surfactant, and positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) ventilation are commonly provided to preterm infants to enhance respiratory function after birth. It is unclear how these treatments interact to improve the transition to air-breathing at birth. We investigated the relative contribution of antenatal betamethasone, prophylactic surfactant, and PEEP (3 cmHO) on functional residual capacity (FRC) and dynamic lung compliance (C) in preterm (28 day GA) rabbit kittens at birth. Kittens were delivered by cesarean section and mechanically ventilated. FRC was calculated from X-ray images, and C was measured using plethysmography. Without betamethasone, PEEP increased FRC recruitment and C Surfactant did not further increase FRC, but significantly increased C Betamethasone abolished the benefit of PEEP on FRC, but surfactant counteracted this effect of betamethasone. These findings indicate that low PEEP levels are insufficient to establish FRC at birth following betamethasone treatment. However, surfactant reversed the effect of betamethasone and when combined, these two treatments enhanced FRC recruitment irrespective of PEEP level.

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