Post by UK Research and Innovation

Every breath matters. But for children with lung conditions, the earliest signs can go unseen.   Detecting and monitoring children’s lung conditions is a significant challenge when traditional scans use X-rays that can’t be repeated frequently.   At The University of Sheffield, Professor Jim Wild and his team from the POLARIS research group and the Insigneo Institute, are helping to  change this.   They’ve developed an imaging technology that enables doctors to see inside children’s airways and track lung changes without using radiation.   The technology combines MRI with inhaled xenon gas, to produce highly detailed images of how air moves through the lungs.   Professor Wild explains:   “Patients inhale the harmless gas, hold their breath for a few seconds while the scanner collects the images, then breathe it out. The images clearly show the ventilation of the airspaces through their lungs.”   “Lung conditions often start in the small airways and membranes of the lungs, which can’t be picked up in the early stages by CT scans. This technology lets doctors spot problems and start treatments sooner,”   Built on over 25 years of research, the technology is helping doctors to diagnose conditions like asthma and cystic fibrosis earlier so people can start treatment sooner.    As the scan doesn’t use radiation, it can also be repeated to track how lung function changes over time and assess how well treatments are working, helping to find the right therapies faster.   Children and young people being cared for at Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust are the first in the UK to access this technology as part of research being undertaken at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital.   Read more about how Sheffield-based research supported safer scans for children’s lungs: https://lnkd.in/e8EZwRXH   And for more stories on how research in Sheffield is improving lives everywhere: https://lnkd.in/egU_jKyB