New lung scanning technology could help clinicians overcome barriers that accompany traditional imaging of the lungs involving breath holds and increased exposure to ionizing radiation. 

The XV scanner—a product of 4DMedical—will be presented at this year’s annual Radiological Society of North America meeting in Chicago. It is said to be the world’s first dedicated lung scanner. The California-based company stated that their new device “represents a significant step forward in lung diagnostics.” 

"In the history of scanning technology, there have been very few fundamentally new approaches introduced since the 1970s and only seven scanning modalities introduced in the past 127 years," Andreas Fouras, PhD, founder and CEO of 4DMedical, said in a release. "We believe the XV Scanner is the 'Eighth Modality.' I'm proud that it represents a meaningful breakthrough in lung scanning and disease diagnostics capability that can help patients struggling with respiratory issues."

In conjunction with 4DMedical’s XV Technology software, the scanner, which is currently preclinical, is capable of accurately assessing areas of high and low ventilation across all parts of the lung and during all phases of breathing. It can be completed in less than five seconds and comes without the expense of added radiation exposure that accompanies standard CT scanning, as the scan requires less radiation than a traditional chest x-ray.  

Using XV Technology software, the scan is analyzed to numerically quantify and display regional impairments of the lungs in great detail. This comes in the form of an in-depth ventilation report that includes a color-coded four-dimensional animation of the patient’s breathing lung. The ventilation report offers clinicians “highly detailed maps of pulmonary function” that they can use as a guide to manage treatment.