VENTILATION IMAGING USING A FINE PARTICLE AEROSOL GENERATOR

摘要

A method of diagnosing a patient is carried out by delivering an aerosolized dose of a radioactive formulation to a patient and making a ventilation image of radioactive material deposited in the lung. Devices and methodology for creating aerosols are provided wich allow for efficient and repeatable delivery of radio-aerosols to the lungs of a patient. The device is loaded with a container (1) of a radioactive formulation (5). Actuation of the device forces the radioactive formulation (5) through a porous membrane (3) of the container which membrane has pores having a diameter in the range of about 0.25 microns to 6.0 microns. The container includes radioactive shielding (84) in the form of a lead coating and/or a lead surrounding packet. The porous membrane (3) is positioned in alignment with a surface of a channel (6) through which a patient inhales air.