Novel "Stethoscope” Produces Dynamic Images of the Lungs

An innovative system visualizes lungs by pulmonary audio analysis of the minuscule body vibrations caused by the air flowing through the lungs.

The VRIxp system is based on the principle of Vibration Response Imaging (VRI). The system is comprised of two pressure sensor array units placed in a V-Array pattern on a patient's back to collect and record the vibrations of the airway walls, caused by airflow and turbulence in the large airways emitted throughout the respiration process. A proprietary algorithm then slices this energy within a predefined frequency band, combines the output signals from a bank of band pass filters dissected over regular time intervals, filters the result, and processes it to produce a sequence of images which reflect the vibration properties. The resulting series of frames, when played in sequence, visualizes in real time the dynamic movement at each pixel position and at each interval of air in the lung.

The system records a 12 seconds section and automatically selects the optimum respiration cycle. The selected image presents both lungs in the breathing cycle. Normal images show an almost equal in size and bean shaped lungs, with a smooth, uninterrupted contour and a consistent progression and regression. An energy graph and intensity indicator demonstrates inspiration and expiration forces. The VRIxp system is a development of Deep Breeze (Or-Akiva, Israel) and it has received the European Community (CE) marking and the U.S. Food and Drug (FDA) approval.

"The VRI-technique provides us with much more than a snap-shot as we are also displaying the lung function in graphical form, a brand new concept to which are not accustomed,” said professor T.O.F. Wagner, M.D., head of the department of pneumonology and allergology at University Clinic Frankfurt (Germany). "This opens up new diagnostic avenues since, up to now, correlating imaging and function data has required a complex and subjective synopsis by the doctor.”

VRI is based on auscultation, one of the oldest examination methods known; it is a skill that requires substantial clinical experience, a fine stethoscope, and good listening skills. Physicians have used the stethoscope in daily practice since 1816, and its use has remained indispensable to this day.

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Deep Breeze
University Clinic Frankfurt