초록 ▼

Method and apparatus for coating the airways of the lung of a patient substantially uniformly with a mist formed by aspirating a liquid which includes restricting the maximum size of the particles of the mist to about 1.2 microns with the major portion of the particles being in the range of 0.056 mi

Method and apparatus for coating the airways of the lung of a patient substantially uniformly with a mist formed by aspirating a liquid which includes restricting the maximum size of the particles of the mist to about 1.2 microns with the major portion of the particles being in the range of 0.056 microns to 1 micron causing the mist to behave as a gas, conduits for feeding the mist together with a gas containing oxygen to a patient to be inhaled during the normal breathing process, and valves connected with the conduits for diverting the exhaled mist and gas through a discharge path. By radioactively tagging the liquid prior to production of the mist, the uniform deposition of the mist throughout the entire lung without encountering heavy accumulations in the large airways and at branch points, enables the production of high definition image scans of the lung.

대표청구항 ▼

A method of diagnosing diseases, comprising: (a) continuously producing a radioactive mist having particles that do not exceed about 1.2 microns in diameter with a major portion of the particles being within the range of about 0.056 microns to about 1 micron, by continuously aspirating a radioactive

A method of diagnosing diseases, comprising: (a) continuously producing a radioactive mist having particles that do not exceed about 1.2 microns in diameter with a major portion of the particles being within the range of about 0.056 microns to about 1 micron, by continuously aspirating a radioactive liquid utilizing gas under pressure; (b) continuously introducing the radioactive mist into a first conduit through a first inlet therein; (c) continuously admitting a gas containing oxygen into the first conduit through a second inlet therein; (d) continuously mixing the gas containing oxygen with said radioactive mist in said first conduit to form a radioactive aerosol mixture; (e) passing the radioactive aerosol mixture from the first conduit to a second conduit through a first unidirectional control valve that permits unidirectional flow from the first conduit to the second conduit; (f) feeding the radioactive aerosol mixture from the second conduit into a patient\s airways during the patient\s breathing to substantially uniformly distribute the radioactive aerosol mixture throughout the patient\s airways and deposit the radioactive mist on surfaces therein; (g) receiving exhaled aerosol from the patient\s airway into the second conduit during the patient\s breathing; (h) passing exhaled aerosol from the second conduit through a second unidirectional flow valve to permit unidirectional flow of exhaled aerosol from inside the second conduit to outside the second conduit with the first unidirectional flow valve preventing exhaled aerosol in the second conduit from passing into the first conduit; (i) preventing development of excessive pressure within the first conduit while exhaled aerosol is being received into the second conduit during the patient\s breathing; and (j) producing radioactive image scans of the patient\s airways after depositing the radioactive mist therein.