Identifying the heterogeneity of COPD by V/P SPECT: a new tool for improving the diagnosis of parenchymal defects and grading the severity of small airways disease

"V/Q SPECT, using Technegas as the ventilation imaging agent, could diagnose and grade severity of COPD and also estimate preserved lung function in 94 patients. Moreover, V/Q SPECT appears to be a unique tool to reveal the heterogeneity of COPD caused by pulmonary comorbidities such as pulmonary embolism, left heart failure, lung tumor and pneumonia."