300 results about "Human lung" patented technology

This relates to a device for treating lung disease, and more particularly, relates to a device for exchanging energy with airway tissue such as that found in the airways of human lungs. The exchange of energy with this airway tissue in the airways reduces the ability of the airways to constrict and / or reduces the resistance within the airway to the flow of air through the airway.

An apparatus and method to characterize NO gas exchange dynamics in human lungs comprising the steps of: (1) performing a series of breath hold maneuvers of progressively increasingly breath hold times, each breath hold maneuver comprising a) inhaling a gas, b) holding a breath for a selected time duration, and c) exhaling at a flow rate which is uncontrolled but which is effective to ensure evacuation of the airway space and (2) measuring airway NO parameters during consecutive breath hold maneuvers. As a result disease states of the lungs are diagnosed using the measured airway NO parameters.

A methodology, system and computer program product for designing and optimizing a rapid magnetic resonance imaging pulse sequence for creating images of a gas or gas-filled structure with substantially reduced diffusion-induced signal attenuation during the course of data acquisition compared to that for currently available magnetic resonance imaging techniques is disclosed. The methodology and system allows desirable combinations of image signal-to-noise ration, spatial resolution and temporal resolution to be achieved that were heretofore not possible. For example, magnetic resonance imaging of hyperpolarized noble gases, which recently has shown significant promise for several medical imaging applications, particularly imaging of the human lung, can be improved. Pulse sequences designed according to the subject methods permit signal levels to be achieved that are up to ten times higher than those possible with the gradient-echo methods now commonly used for hyperpolarized-gas imaging. This signal increase can be traded for substantially lower does, and hence much lower cost, of the hyperpolarized-gas agent. The methodology and system will also be useful for non-biological applications of hyperpolarized gases for example material science studies, as well as for magnetic resonance imaging of any other gas for biological or non-biological applications. Pulse sequences designed according to the subject methods can also serve as the foundation for a variety of specialized gas-imaging pulse sequences, such as those for apparent-diffusion-coefficient, dynamic or oxygen-concentration imaging.