Birefringence microscopy platform for assessing airway smooth muscle structure and function in vivo.

The inability to visualize airway smooth muscle (ASM) cells in vivo is a major obstacle in understanding their role in normal physiology and diseases. At present, there is no imaging modality available to assess ASM in vivo. Confocal endomicroscopy lacks the penetration depth and field of view, and conventional optical coherence tomography (OCT) does not have sufficient contrast to differentiate ASM from surrounding tissues. We have developed a birefringence microscopy platform that leverages the micro-organization of tissue to add further dimension to traditional OCT. We have used this technology to validate ASM measurements in ex vivo swine and canine studies, visualize and characterize volumetric representations of ASM in vivo, and quantify and predict ASM contractile force as a function of optical retardation. We provide in vivo images and volumetric assessments of ASM in living humans and document structural disease variations in subjects with mild asthma. The opportunity to link inflammatory responses to ASM responses and to link ASM responses to clinical responses and outcomes could lead to an increased understanding of diseases of the airway and, ultimately, to improved patient outcomes.

Effect of prone position on regional shunt, aeration, and perfusion in experimental acute lung injury.

RATIONALE: The prone position is used to improve gas exchange in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome. However, the regional mechanism by which the prone position improves gas exchange in acutely injured lungs is still incompletely defined. METHODS: We used positron emission tomography imaging of [(13)N]nitrogen to assess the regional distribution of pulmonary shunt, aeration, perfusion, and ventilation in seven surfactant-depleted sheep in supine and prone positions. RESULTS: In the supine position, the dorsal lung regions had a high shunt fraction, high perfusion, and poor aeration. The prone position was associated with an increase in lung gas content and with a more uniform distribution of aeration, as the increase in aeration in dorsal lung regions was not offset by loss of aeration in ventral regions. Consequently, the shunt fraction decreased in dorsal regions in the prone position without a concomitant impairment of gas exchange in ventral regions, thus leading to a significant increase in the fraction of pulmonary perfusion participating in gas exchange. In addition, the vertical distribution of specific alveolar ventilation became more uniform in the prone position. A biphasic relation between regional shunt fraction and gas fraction showed low shunt for values of gas fraction higher than a threshold, and a steep linear increase in shunt for lower values of gas fraction. CONCLUSION: In a surfactant-deficient model of lung injury, the prone position improved gas exchange by restoring aeration and decreasing shunt while preserving perfusion in dorsal lung regions, and by making the distribution of ventilation more uniform.