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Dynamic chest radiography: flat-panel detector (FPD) based functional X-ray imaging

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Abstract

Dynamic chest radiography is a flat-panel detector (FPD)-based functional X-ray imaging, which is performed as an additional examination in chest radiography. The large field of view (FOV) of FPDs permits real-time observation of the entire lungs and simultaneous right-and-left evaluation of diaphragm kinetics. Most importantly, dynamic chest radiography provides pulmonary ventilation and circulation findings as slight changes in pixel value even without the use of contrast media; the interpretation is challenging and crucial for a better understanding of pulmonary function. The basic concept was proposed in the 1980s; however, it was not realized until the 2010s because of technical limitations. Dynamic FPDs and advanced digital image processing played a key role for clinical application of dynamic chest radiography. Pulmonary ventilation and circulation can be quantified and visualized for the diagnosis of pulmonary diseases. Dynamic chest radiography can be deployed as a simple and rapid means of functional imaging in both routine and emergency medicine. Here, we focus on the evaluation of pulmonary ventilation and circulation. This review article describes the basic mechanism of imaging findings according to pulmonary/circulation physiology, followed by imaging procedures, analysis method, and diagnostic performance of dynamic chest radiography.

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Acknowledgments

The author is grateful to the staff in the department of Radiology, Respiratory Medicine, and Respiratory Surgery, Clinical Laboratory, Kanazawa University Hospital, and staff from Canon Inc., for their assistance with clinical data acquisitions, and to Shigeru Sanada, PhD, for his frequent support over the course of the project, and Nobuo Okazaki, MD, for his intellectual debate on respiratory physiology. This work was supported in part by The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, MEXT KAKENHI Grant Number 16K10271, 24601007, 19790860; JSPS Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas (Multidisciplinary Computational Anatomy) JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number 15H01113; The Tateisi Science and Technology Foundation, Nakashima Foundation, Konica Minolta Science and Technology Foundation, Suzuken Memorial Foundation, Japan Cardiovascular Research Foundation, Nakatani Foundation, The Mitani Foundation for Research and Development, and The Mitsubishi Foundation.

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  1. Department of Radiological Technology, School of Health Sciences, College of Medical, Pharmaceutical and Health Sciences, Kanazawa University, 5-11-80 Kodatsuno, Kanazawa, 920-0942, Japan

    Rie Tanaka

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Tanaka, R. Dynamic chest radiography: flat-panel detector (FPD) based functional X-ray imaging. Radiol Phys Technol 9, 139–153 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12194-016-0361-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12194-016-0361-6

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