Abstract
Abnormalities of the airways are found in a wide spectrum of diseases and conditions, with CT features that can overlap. CT features include bronchiectasis/bronchiolectasis, mucous plugging, bronchial wall thickening, and tree-in-bud pattern/centrolobular micronodules. They can be accurately assessed through image processing available on a console or workstation, such as MPR or VRT (SSD, minIP, and MIP). Recent advances in software have provided airway tree segmentation and virtual bronchoscopy navigation, as well as objective quantification of airway changes. Future developments in this objective quantification and in the reduction of the radiation dose are mandatory if CT is to play a more important role in the routine diagnosis, prognosis, and monitoring of airway diseases.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Asano F, Shinagawa N, Ishida T et al (2015) Virtual bronchoscopic navigation improves the diagnostic yield of radial-endobronchial ultrasound for peripheral pulmonary lesions with involved bronchi on CT. Intern Med 54:1021–1025
Bartz RR, Stern EJ (2000) Airways obstruction in patients with sarcoidosis: expiratory CT scan findings. J Thorac Imaging 15:285–289
Brody AS, Kosorok MR, Li Z et al (2006) Reproducibility of a scoring system for computed tomography scanning in cystic fibrosis. J Thorac Imaging 21:14–21
Calhoun PS, Kuszyk BS, Heath DG et al (1999) Three-dimensional volume rendering of spiral CT data: theory and method. Radiographics 19:745–764
Chooi WK, Matthews S, Bull MJ, Morcos SK (2003) Multislice helical CT: the value of multiplanar image reconstruction in assessment of the bronchi and small airways disease. Br J Radiol 76:536–540
Copley SJ, Wells AU, Muller NL et al (2002) Thin-section CT in obstructive pulmonary disease: discriminatory value. Radiology 223:812–819
de Jong PA, Ottink MD, Robben SG et al (2004) Pulmonary disease assessment in cystic fibrosis: comparison of CT scoring systems and value of bronchial and arterial dimension measurements. Radiology 231:434–439
Dijkstra AE, Postma DS, ten Hacken N et al (2013) Low-dose CT measurements of airway dimensions and emphysema associated with airflow limitation in heavy smokers: a cross sectional study. Respir Res 14:11
Ferretti GR, Thony F, Bosson JL et al (2000) Benign abnormalities and carcinoid tumors of the central airways: diagnostic impact of CT bronchography. AJR Am J Roentgenol 174:1307–1313
Gilkeson RC, Ciancibello LM, Hejal RB et al (2001) Tracheobronchomalacia: dynamic airway evaluation with multidetector CT. AJR Am J Roentgenol 176:205–210
Grenier P, Mourey-Gerosa I, Benali K et al (1996) Abnormalities of the airways and lung parenchyma in asthmatics: CT observations in 50 patients and inter- and intraobserver variability. Eur Radiol 6:199–206
Grenier PA, Beigelman-Aubry C, Fetita C et al (2002) New frontiers in CT imaging of airway disease. Eur Radiol 12:1022–1044
Grydeland TB, Dircksen A, Coxson HO et al (2009) Quantitative computed tomography: emphysema and airway wall thickness by sex, age and smoking. Eur Respir J 34:858–865
Hackx M, Bankier AA, Gevenois PA (2012) Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: CT quantification of airways disease. Radiology 265:34–48
Hackx M, Ghaye B, Coche E et al (2015a) Severe COPD exacerbation: CT features. COPD 12:38–45
Hackx M, Gyssels E, Garcia TS et al (2015b) Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: CT quantification of airway dimensions, numbers of airways to measure, and effect of bronchodilation. Radiology 277:853–862
Hansell DM, Rubens MB, Padley SP, Wells AU (1997) Obliterative bronchiolitis: individual CT signs of small airways disease and functional correlation. Radiology 203:721–726
Hansell DM, Bankier AA, MacMahon H et al (2008) Fleischner society: glossary of terms for thoracic imaging. Radiology 246:697–722
Hansell DM, Lynch DA, McAdams HP, Bankier AA (2010) Imaging diseases of the chest, 5th edn. Mosby Elsevier, Philadelphia
Hogg JC, Macklem PT, Turlbeck WM (1968) Site and nature of airway obstruction in chronic obstructive lung disease. N Engl J Med 278:1355–1360
Hogg JC, Chu F, Utokaparch S et al (2004) The nature of small-airway obstruction in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. N Engl J Med 350:2645–2653
Kang EY, Miller RR, Müller NL (1995) Bronchiectasis: comparison of preoperative thin-section CT and pathologic findings in resected specimens. Radiology 195:649–654
Kim Y, Kim YK, Lee BE et al (2015) Ultra-low-dose CT of the thorax using iterative reconstruction: evaluation of image quality and radiation dose reduction. AJR Am J Roentgenol 204:1197–1202
Lederlin M, Laurent F, Portron Y et al (2012) CT attenuation of the bronchial wall in patients with asthma: comparison with geometric parameters and correlation with function and histologic characteristics. AJR Am J Roentgenol 199:1226–1233
Matsuoka S, Kurihara Y, Yagihashi K et al (2008) Quantitative assessment of air trapping in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease using inspiratory and expiratory volumetric MDCT. AJR Am J Roentgenol 190:762–769
Montaudon M, Berger P, Cangini-Sacher A et al (2007) Bronchial measurement with three-dimensional quantitative thin-section CT in patients with cystic fibrosis. Radiology 242:573–581
Montaudon M, Lederlin M, Reich S et al (2009) Bronchial measurements in patients with asthma: comparison of thin-section CT findings with those in healthy subjects and correlation with pathologic findings. Radiology 253:844–853
Mori K, Ota S, Deguchi D et al (2009) Automated anatomical labeling of bronchial branches extracted from CT datasets based on machine learning and combination optimization and its application to bronchoscope guidance. Med Image Comput Comput Assist Interv 12:707–714
Nakano Y, Muro S, Sakai H et al (2000) Computed tomographic measurements of airway dimensions and emphysema in smokers. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 162:1102–1108
Nakano Y, Whittall KP, Kalloger SE et al (2002) Development and validation of human airway analysis algorithm using multidetector row CT. Proc SPIE 4683:460–469
Nakano Y, Wong JC, de Jong PA et al (2005) The prediction of small airway dimensions using computed tomography. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 171:142–146
Remy- Jardin M, Remy J, Deschildre F et al (1996) Obstructive lesions of the central airways: evaluation by using spiral CT with multiplanar and three-dimensional reformations. Eur Radiol 6:807–816
Sundakamura DK, Bhalla AS, Sharma R et al (2011) Multidetector CT evaluation of central airways stenoses: comparison of virtual bronchoscopy, minimal-intensity projection, and multiplanar reformatted images. Indian J Radiol Imaging 21:191–194
van Ginneken B, Baggerman W, van Rikxoort EM (2008) Robust segmentation and anatomical labeling of the airway tree from thoracic CT scans. Med Image Comput Comput Assist Interv 11:219–226
Wood SA, Zerhouni EA, Hoford JD et al (1995) Measurement of three-dimensional lung tree structures by using computed tomography. J Appl Physiol 79:1687–1697
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer International Publishing
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Hackx, M., Gevenois, P.A. (2016). CT Imaging of the Airways. In: Schoepf, U., Meinel, F. (eds) Multidetector-Row CT of the Thorax. Medical Radiology(). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-30355-0_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-30355-0_5
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-30353-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-30355-0
eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)