A method, apparatus and program product for detecting distribution of inhaled aerosolized medication based on EIT

Abstract

The application relates to the field of intelligent medical treatment, in particular to a distribution detection method, equipment and program product of inhaled atomized medicine based on EIT. The method comprises the following steps: S1, acquiring an EIT image of inhaled air of a person to be detected and an EIT image of inhaled atomized medicine; S2, performing difference calculation based on the EIT image of inhaled air and the EIT image of inhaled atomized medicine to obtain an atomization difference; and S3, calculating atomized medicine distribution imaging based on the atomization difference. The application can quantitatively detect the distribution of inhaled atomized medicine in the body in a non-invasive and simple manner, and has good clinical value.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of intelligent healthcare, specifically to a method, device, program product, and computer-readable storage medium for detecting the distribution of inhaled nebulized drugs based on EIT. Background Technology

[0002] Nebulized therapy is a core drug delivery method for respiratory diseases. It addresses the problems of traditional systemic drug delivery methods, such as the first-pass effect of metabolism, low bioavailability, and significant side effects. Nebulized inhalation can deliver drugs to the lesion through aerosols, significantly increasing local drug concentration and reducing systemic exposure. It is especially suitable for diseases such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cystic fibrosis, and lower respiratory tract infections. In recent years, numerous new nebulization devices have been optimized (such as vibrating screen nebulizers and soft mist inhalers) to improve aerosol uniformity. However, the droplet size distribution produced by different nebulizers (such as ultrasonic nebulizers and vibrating screen nebulizers) varies greatly, affecting the drug deposition area in the lungs. The patient's breathing method also affects the nebulization effect. Therefore, it is necessary to detect the distribution of nebulized drugs. Methods for detecting the distribution of nebulized drugs after inhalation include chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS / MS), and examination using radiolabeled drugs combined with positron emission tomography (PET) or single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). However, these distribution detection methods are expensive and require radiolabeling, which is highly radioactive, limiting their clinical application. Summary of the Invention

[0003] To address the above problems, this invention provides a method for detecting the distribution of inhaled nebulized drugs based on EIT, specifically including:

[0004] S1. Acquire EIT images of the air inhaled by the subject and EIT images of the nebulized medication inhaled by the subject;

[0005] S2. The nebulization difference is obtained by calculating the difference between the EIT image of inhaled air and the EIT image of inhaled nebulized medication;

[0006] S3. Based on the atomization difference, the atomized drug distribution image is calculated.

[0007] The nebulized drug includes a nebulized drug and a nebulized electrolyte solution. The subject inhaling the nebulized electrolyte solution and drug is imaged in real time by EIT to obtain an EIT image of the inhaled nebulized drug.

[0008] Optionally, the atomized electrolyte solution includes one or more of the following: hypertonic saline, high-concentration potassium chloride solution, and high-concentration glucose solution;

[0009] The nebulized drug is a nebulized drug with added hypertonic saline. The subject inhaling the hypertonic saline nebulized drug is imaged in real time using EIT to obtain an EIT image of the inhaled nebulized drug.

[0010] The difference calculation is to calculate the nebulization difference by measuring the impedance difference between the EIT image pixels of the inhaled drug and the EIT image pixels of the inhaled nebulized drug.

[0011] The volume of inhaled air and the volume of inhaled nebulized medication are provided by constant volume, wherein the volume of inhaled air is equal to the volume of inhaled nebulized medication.

[0012] The volume determination is achieved by inhaling the volume using the SVC (Speed ​​Capacity Control) method.

[0013] Optionally, when the subject is a ventilator-equipped subject, the volume control is replaced by: introducing a fixed volume of air and a fixed volume of nebulized medication through a volume control ventilation mode;

[0014] Optionally, the volume determination is replaced by: obtaining the inhaled volume by comparing the end-expiratory volume;

[0015] Optionally, the inhalation volume can be obtained by comparing the end-expiratory lung volume of inhaled air with the end-expiratory volume of inhaled nebulized medication.

[0016] S1 is replaced by: acquiring continuous air EIT images and continuous nebulized drug EIT images; S2 is replaced by: averaging the continuous air EIT images and continuous nebulized drug EIT images to obtain average air EIT images and average nebulized drug EIT images respectively; and calculating the difference between the average air EIT images and the average nebulized drug EIT images to obtain the nebulization difference.

[0017] Optionally, the continuous air EIT image and the continuous nebulized drug EIT image are obtained by continuous inhalation of volumetric air for N minutes, where N is a natural number greater than or equal to 1 minute.

[0018] Optionally, the EIT image of the continuous air and the EIT image of the continuous nebulized drug are obtained by volumetric inhalation of L consecutive breaths, where L is a natural number greater than or equal to 10.

[0019] The purpose of this invention is to provide a computer program product that includes a computer program or instructions, which are executed by a processor to implement the above-described EIT-based method for detecting the distribution of inhaled nebulized drugs.

[0020] The purpose of this invention is to provide a computer device comprising a memory, a processor, and a computer program or instructions stored in the memory, wherein the computer program or instructions are executed by the processor to implement the above-described EIT-based method for detecting the distribution of inhaled nebulized drugs.

[0021] The purpose of this invention is to provide a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program or instructions thereon, which is executed by a processor to implement the above-described EIT-based method for detecting the distribution of inhaled nebulized drugs.

[0022] Advantages of this invention:

[0023] 1. This invention proposes a non-invasive method for detecting the distribution of nebulized drugs in the body after inhalation, which is suitable for clinical testing. It does not require separate imaging and helps doctors to visualize the distribution of nebulized drugs in the patient's body in real time, thereby assisting doctors in diagnosis and monitoring patient treatment.

[0024] 2. This invention utilizes the characteristic of EIT to detect changes in intrapulmonary ventilation in real time, calculates the difference between the impedance changes after nebulized drugs and air inhalation, and reconstructs the distribution image of nebulized drugs based on the difference to assist doctors in diagnosis and predict prognosis using the drug distribution results.

[0025] 3. Different volume control methods are used for spontaneous breathing patients and ventilator patients to ensure that the volume of inhaled air and nebulized drugs are the same, thereby avoiding impedance errors in the EIT generation process and improving the reliability and accuracy of nebulized drug distribution imaging. Attached Figure Description

[0026] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the accompanying drawings used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the accompanying drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0027] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the distribution detection method for inhaled nebulized drugs based on EIT provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0028] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of an EIT-based distribution detection system for inhaled nebulized drugs provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0029] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of an EIT-based distribution detection device for inhaled nebulized drugs provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0030] Figure 4The difference map (distribution map) obtained by calculating the difference after a patient undergoes SVC volumetric inhalation according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0031] Figure 5 Regional pulmonary function test images, EIT function map (top) and CT image (bottom) of the same patient provided in the embodiments of the present invention;

[0032] Figure 6 This is a graph showing the difference between air and drug after inhalation at a fixed volume when the nebulized drug solvent is water, as provided in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0033] Figure 7 A graph showing the difference between air and drug after inhalation at a fixed volume when the nebulized drug solvent is physiological saline, as provided in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0034] Figure 8 This is a graph showing the difference between air and drug after inhalation at a constant volume when the nebulized drug solvent is 5% hypertonic saline, as provided in this embodiment of the invention. Detailed Implementation

[0035] To enable those skilled in the art to better understand the present invention, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0036] In some of the processes described in the specification, claims, and accompanying drawings of this invention, multiple operations appearing in a specific order are included. However, it should be clearly understood that these operations may not be executed in the order they appear herein, or may be executed in parallel. The operation numbers, such as S101, S102, etc., are merely used to distinguish different operations and do not represent any execution order. Furthermore, these processes may include more or fewer operations, and these operations may be executed sequentially or in parallel. It should be noted that the descriptions such as "first," "second," etc., in this document are used to distinguish different messages, devices, modules, etc., and do not represent a sequential order, nor do they limit "first" and "second" to different types.

[0037] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the distribution detection method for inhaled nebulized drugs based on EIT provided in this embodiment of the invention specifically includes:

[0038] S1: Acquire EIT images of the air inhaled by the subject and EIT images of the nebulized medication inhaled by the subject;

[0039] In one embodiment, the nebulized drug includes a nebulized drug and a nebulized electrolyte solution. An EIT image of the inhaled nebulized drug is obtained by real-time imaging of the subject inhaling the nebulized electrolyte solution and the drug using EIT.

[0040] Optionally, the atomized electrolyte solution includes one or more of the following: hypertonic saline, high-concentration potassium chloride solution, and high-concentration glucose solution.

[0041] In one embodiment, the nebulized drug is a nebulized drug with added hypertonic saline solution, and the subject inhaling the hypertonic saline nebulized drug is subjected to real-time imaging via EIT to obtain an EIT image of the inhaled nebulized drug.

[0042] In one embodiment, the volume of inhaled air and the volume of inhaled nebulized medication are provided by constant volume, wherein the volume of inhaled air is equal to the volume of inhaled nebulized medication.

[0043] In one embodiment, the volume determination is achieved by inhaling using the SVC (Speed ​​Capacity Control) method to obtain the inhaled volume.

[0044] In one embodiment, the volume fixation is replaced by obtaining the inhaled volume by comparing the end-expiratory volume.

[0045] Optionally, the inhalation volume can be obtained by comparing the end-expiratory lung volume of inhaled air with the end-expiratory volume of inhaled nebulized medication.

[0046] Optionally, when the subject is a ventilator-equipped subject, the volume control is replaced by: introducing a fixed volume of air and a fixed volume of nebulized medication through a volume control ventilation mode.

[0047] S2: The nebulization difference is calculated by comparing the EIT images of inhaled air and the EIT images of inhaled nebulized medication.

[0048] In one embodiment, the difference calculation is to calculate the nebulization difference by measuring the impedance difference between the EIT image pixels of the inhaled drug and the EIT image pixels of the inhaled nebulized drug.

[0049] S3: Calculate the distribution image of the atomized drug based on the atomization difference.

[0050] In one embodiment, image reconstruction based on atomization difference is used to obtain atomized drug distribution imaging, wherein image reconstruction includes, but is not limited to, one or more of the following: linear back projection method, nonlinear iterative optimization method, regularized reconstruction, Fourier transform reconstruction method, filtered back projection method, and convolutional back projection method.

[0051] In one embodiment, S1 is replaced by: acquiring continuous air EIT images and continuous nebulized drug EIT images; S2 is replaced by: averaging the continuous air EIT images and the continuous nebulized drug EIT images to obtain an average air EIT image and an average nebulized drug EIT image; and calculating the difference between the average air EIT image and the average nebulized drug EIT image to obtain a nebulization difference.

[0052] In one embodiment, the continuous air EIT image and the continuous nebulized drug EIT image are obtained by continuous inhalation of volumetric air for N minutes, where N is a natural number greater than or equal to 1 minute.

[0053] In one embodiment, the EIT image of continuous air and the EIT image of continuous nebulized drug are obtained by volumetric inhalation of L consecutive breaths, where L is a natural number greater than or equal to 10.

[0054] In one embodiment, S1 is replaced by: acquiring the patient's breathing mode type; S2 is replaced by: acquiring EIT images based on the breathing type, where, when the breathing type is spontaneous breathing, EIT images of inhaled air and EIT images of inhaled nebulized medication are acquired; when the breathing type is ventilator type, continuous air EIT images and continuous nebulized medication EIT images are acquired; S3 is replaced by: S3 including parallel S31 and S32, where S31 is to calculate the difference between the EIT images of inhaled air and the EIT images of inhaled nebulized medication to obtain a nebulization difference; S32 is to calculate the average air EIT image and the average nebulized medication EIT image by averaging the continuous air EIT image and the continuous nebulized medication EIT image respectively, and calculate the nebulization difference based on the difference between the average air EIT image and the average nebulized medication EIT image; the method further includes S4: calculating nebulized medication distribution imaging based on the nebulization difference.

[0055] In one embodiment, the parallel S31 and S32 select one of the methods to perform atomization difference calculation based on the input in S2.

[0056] In one embodiment, the method meets the patient's clinical needs by performing parallel nebulization difference calculations. Based on the patient's condition, when the patient is able to breathe independently, the nebulization difference calculation is performed in step S31 to obtain subsequent nebulized drug distribution imaging; when the patient's condition worsens and they are breathing on a ventilator, the nebulization difference calculation is performed in step S32 to obtain subsequent nebulized drug distribution imaging.

[0057] Accordingly, once the patient's condition improves and they are able to breathe independently, the system switches to mode S31. This invention not only enables real-time visualization of the nebulized drug distribution but also allows for adjustments to the imaging process's computational methods, enabling efficient resource allocation and reduced computational overhead.

[0058] In addition, when the patient is able to breathe spontaneously, the volume is determined by the SVC (Self-Voltage Capacity); when the patient is breathing on a ventilator, the same volume of air and the same volume of inhaled medication are introduced, or the volume of inhaled medication is determined by the end-expiratory volume.

[0059] In one specific embodiment, EIT can monitor changes in intrapulmonary ventilation in real time. Because saline solution has low electrical impedance, it contrasts sharply with normally inhaled air. This invention utilizes two comparisons (first inhaling normal air, then adding hypertonic saline solution, such as 5%-7%, to the nebulizer) to ensure consistent air volume in both inhalations through a constant volume method. Then, based on the difference in gas distribution, the distribution of the nebulized saline solution is calculated. This method is applicable to various types of nebulizers.

[0060] For patients with spontaneous breathing, the SVC (Spiritual Capacity Control) method can be used (when SVC is performed correctly, the difference in volume between two breaths should be within 0.15L). For patients on mechanical ventilation, volume control can be used to ensure consistent respiratory volumes before and after ventilation. Tidal ventilation may have a smaller tidal volume, and the impedance difference between inhaled saline and inhaled air may not be easily identified. In such cases, volume control can be used to continuously breathe for a certain period of time (≥1 minute) or a certain number of breaths (≥10 breaths), calculate the average and then calculate the difference, or compare the corresponding end-expiratory lung volumes and compare the differences accordingly.

[0061] In one specific embodiment, the difference graph calculated by SVC after inhaling saline and inhaling air is shown below. Figure 4 As shown, orange indicates areas of saline distribution (areas of decreased impedance). Regional pulmonary function tests were also performed on this patient, such as... Figure 5 As shown, in Figure 5 In the upper half of the image, the patient's left lung (right side of the image) shows severe flow restriction, coinciding with the area where saline solution could not reach in the previous image. In the lower half, the CT scan also shows significant bronchiectasis on the patient's left side. This demonstrates that the nebulized drug distribution obtained by the method proposed in this invention conforms to the patient's lung regions, and the drug distribution can be visualized, possessing significant clinical (bedside) application value.

[0062] In one embodiment, the comparison results of using hypertonic saline, pure water, and physiological saline in the electrolyte solution of nebulized drugs are as follows: At 25°C, the conductivity of pure water is approximately 0.05–1 µS / cm, physiological saline is approximately 1.5 mS / cm, and 5% hypertonic saline is approximately 7.5 mS / cm. When pure water is used as the solvent for the nebulized drug, the test subject performs volume adjustment using the SVC method to obtain EIT images of inhaled air and inhaled nebulized drugs. Based on the difference between the two EIT images, a nebulized drug distribution image is generated. Figure 6 As shown, the blue values ​​represent the percentage of increased ventilation relative to tidal volume, and the orange values ​​represent the percentage of decreased ventilation relative to tidal volume. When using physiological saline solution as the nebulized drug solvent, the test subject underwent SVC (Self-Ventilation Control) to obtain EIT (Effective Intake Tissue) images of inhaled air and inhaled nebulized drug. The difference between the two EIT images was calculated to generate a nebulized drug distribution image, as shown below. Figure 7As shown; when using 5% hypertonic saline as the nebulized drug, the test subject underwent SVC (Self-Volume Control) to obtain EIT (Effective Intensity Interval) images of inhaled air and inhaled nebulized drug. Based on the difference between the two EIT images, a nebulized drug distribution image was generated, as shown. Figure 8 As shown, hypertonic saline added to or used as the electrolyte solution for nebulized drugs exhibits greater sensitivity compared to ordinary solvents or physiological saline, thus solving the problem of insufficient sensitivity of conventional solvents for nebulized drugs. The effect of hypertonic saline is more conducive to the imaging and display of nebulized drug distribution.

[0063] The present invention also discloses a computer program product or system, including a computer program that, when executed by a processor, implements the above-described steps of the EIT-based inhaled nebulized drug distribution detection method.

[0064] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the EIT-based distribution detection system for inhaled nebulized drugs provided in this embodiment of the invention specifically includes:

[0065] Acquisition Unit: Acquires EIT images of inhaled air and inhaled nebulized medication by the subject;

[0066] Difference unit: The nebulization difference is obtained by calculating the difference between the EIT image of inhaled air and the EIT image of inhaled nebulized medication;

[0067] Distribution unit: The distribution imaging of the atomized drug is calculated based on the atomization difference.

[0068] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of an EIT-based inhaled nebulized drug distribution detection device provided in this embodiment of the invention specifically includes:

[0069] A memory and a processor; the memory is used to store program instructions; the processor is used to invoke the program instructions, when any of the above-described EIT-based inhaled nebulized drug distribution detection methods are executed.

[0070] The present invention also discloses a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program, which, when executed by a processor, represents any of the above-described methods for detecting the distribution of inhaled nebulized drugs based on EIT.

[0071] The verification results of this verification embodiment show that assigning inherent weights to indications can improve the performance of this method compared to the default settings. Those skilled in the art will understand that, for the sake of convenience and brevity, the specific working processes of the systems, devices, and units described above can be referred to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, and will not be repeated here. In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices, and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely illustrative; for example, the division of units is merely a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed. Furthermore, the displayed or discussed mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection may be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, and may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms. The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated; the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of this embodiment. Furthermore, the functional units in the various embodiments of the present invention can be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit. The integrated units described above can be implemented in hardware or as software functional units. Those skilled in the art will understand that all or part of the steps in the various methods of the above embodiments can be implemented by a program instructing related hardware. This program can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, which may include: read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk, etc.

[0072] Those skilled in the art will understand that all or part of the steps in the methods of the above embodiments can be implemented by a program instructing related hardware. The program can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, such as a read-only memory, a disk, or an optical disk.

[0073] The computer device provided by the present invention has been described in detail above. For those skilled in the art, there will be changes in the specific implementation and application scope based on the ideas of the embodiments of the present invention. Therefore, the content of this specification should not be construed as a limitation of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for detecting the distribution of inhaled nebulized drugs based on EIT, characterized in that, include: S1. Acquire EIT images of the air inhaled by the subject and EIT images of the nebulized medication inhaled by the subject; The volume of inhaled air and the volume of inhaled nebulized medication are provided by constant volume, wherein the volume of inhaled air is equal to the volume of inhaled nebulized medication. S2. The nebulization difference is obtained by calculating the impedance difference between the EIT image pixels of inhaled air and the EIT image pixels of inhaled nebulized drugs. S3. Based on the atomization difference, the atomized drug distribution image is calculated.

2. The method for detecting the distribution of inhaled nebulized drugs based on EIT according to claim 1, characterized in that, The nebulized medication includes a nebulized drug and a nebulized electrolyte solution. The subject inhaling the nebulized electrolyte solution and medication is imaged in real time using EIT to obtain an EIT image of the inhaled nebulized drug.

3. The method for detecting the distribution of inhaled nebulized drugs based on EIT according to claim 2, characterized in that, The atomized electrolyte solution includes one or more of the following: hypertonic saline, high-concentration potassium chloride solution, and high-concentration glucose solution.

4. The method for detecting the distribution of inhaled nebulized drugs based on EIT according to claim 1, characterized in that, The nebulized drug is a nebulized drug with added hypertonic saline. The subject inhaling the hypertonic saline nebulized drug is imaged in real time using EIT to obtain an EIT image of the inhaled nebulized drug.

5. The method for detecting the distribution of inhaled nebulized drugs based on EIT according to claim 1, characterized in that, The volume determination is achieved by inhaling using the SVC (Speed ​​Capacity Control) method to obtain the inhaled volume.

6. The method for detecting the distribution of inhaled nebulized drugs based on EIT according to claim 1, characterized in that, When the test subject is a ventilator-equipped subject, the volume control is replaced by: introducing a fixed volume of air and a fixed volume of nebulized medication through a volume control ventilation mode.

7. The method for detecting the distribution of inhaled nebulized drugs based on EIT according to claim 1, characterized in that, The volume-fixing replacement is: obtaining the inhaled volume by comparing the end-expiratory volume.

8. The method for detecting the distribution of inhaled nebulized drugs based on EIT according to claim 7, characterized in that, Inhalation volume is obtained by comparing the end-expiratory lung volume of inhaled air with the end-expiratory volume of inhaled nebulized medication.

9. The method for detecting the distribution of inhaled nebulized drugs based on EIT according to claim 1, characterized in that, S1 is replaced by: acquiring continuous air EIT images and continuous nebulized drug EIT images; S2 is replaced by: averaging the continuous air EIT images and continuous nebulized drug EIT images to obtain average air EIT images and average nebulized drug EIT images respectively; and calculating the difference between the average air EIT images and the average nebulized drug EIT images to obtain the nebulization difference.

10. The method for detecting the distribution of inhaled nebulized drugs based on EIT according to claim 9, characterized in that, The EIT images of continuous air and continuous nebulized drugs are obtained by continuous inhalation of volumetric air for N minutes, where N is a natural number greater than or equal to 1 minute.

11. The method for detecting the distribution of inhaled nebulized drugs based on EIT according to claim 9, characterized in that, The EIT images of continuous air and continuous nebulized drugs are obtained by volumetric inhalation of L consecutive breaths, where L is a natural number greater than or equal to 10.

12. A computer program product comprising a computer program or instructions, characterized in that, The computer program or instructions are executed by a processor to implement the EIT-based distribution detection method for inhaled nebulized drugs according to any one of claims 1-11.

13. A computer device comprising a memory, a processor, and a computer program or instructions stored in the memory, characterized in that, The computer program or instructions are executed by a processor to implement the EIT-based distribution detection method for inhaled nebulized drugs according to any one of claims 1-11.

14. A computer-readable storage medium having a computer program or instructions stored thereon, characterized in that, The computer program or instructions are executed by a processor to implement the EIT-based distribution detection method for inhaled nebulized drugs according to any one of claims 1-11.

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