Clinical Assessment of a Commercial Delivery System for Aerosol Ventilation Scanning by Comparison with Krypton-81m

Abstract

A commercial aerosol delivery system* for ventilation scanning was evaluated in 23 patients with lung disease involving regional disturbances of ventilation. Ventilation scans obtained after inhalation of an aerosol labeled with In-113m were compared with Kr-81m ventilation scans. An indirect comparison was also made with a settling bag technique.

There was close agreement between the aerosol and the Kr-81m ventilation scans in all of the patients. The aerosol outlined the ventilated parts of the lung adequately, and central deposition of particles was minimal. The penetration of the aerosol into the lung was higher with the delivery system than with a settling bag system. The aerosol delivery system appears suitable for clinical pulmonary ventilation scintigraphy.