Obtaining a view of lung tissue with effective resolutions of 0.067 millimetres, i.e. much higher, with a radiation dose to the patient reduced by 2-3 times compared to traditional CAT is now possible thanks to the results achieved at Elettra Sincrotrone, in the Area Science Park of Trieste, by a team of Italian and German researchers.
The results of this important multidisciplinary study have been recently published in the most important European scientific journal on lung diseases, the European Respiratory Journal, by Elettra project coordinator Dr. Giuliana Tromba, in collaboration with Prof. Marco Confalonieri, Director of the Pneumology Department of the University Hospital of Cattinara of Trieste, and German researchers Christian Dullin and Willi Wagner, from the University of Göttingen and Heildelberg, respectively.
With the innovative ‘phase contrast’ technique, which takes advantage of the peculiar characteristics of synchrotron light (such as monochromaticity and spatial coherence), it is possible to extend visibility to smaller details of lungs (which actually reaches the limit of approximately 0.5 millimetres) with better radiation administration to patients.
The experiments at Elettra were carried out at the SYRMEP (SYnchrotone Radiation for MEdical Physics) beamline and on an animal model, i.e. pig lungs, which have characteristics very similar to human lungs. Exposure to the Elettra synchrotron light allowed to explore the morphology of lung tissue with an unprecedented level of resolution.
The researchers were very satisfied of the study since, according to Prof. Confalonieri, it will “soon allow us to study the human lung as if we had a huge microscope available to us, maximising resolution and minimizing the radiation dose.”
In fact, “from 2026 onwards, when the new Elettra 2.0 light machine becomes operational, a dedicated radiology clinic will be set up on the new SYRMEP-Life Science line which will be able to accommodate patients from all over the Region and will be a unique worldwide resource for medical research,” said the President of Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste, Prof. Alfonso Franciosi.
Dr. Giuliana Tromba highlighted the importance of having the results of this work published in such a prestigious journal: “The research team hopes to soon be able to make available to the Trieste healthcare system an innovative way of viewing the alterations created in the lung by serious diseases such as tumours and pulmonary interstitial fibrosis.”
The first lung CAT clinical protocol will exploit the potential of synchrotron light in understanding and characterising lung tissue abnormalities and will be aimed primarily at cases where traditional diagnosis leaves interpretive doubts.
