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Abstract

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. This image is compared with a separately generated image (perfusion image) taken after injecting radiolabled particles into the pulmonary arterial circulation. Devices, packaging and methodology for creating aerosols are provided which allow for efficient and repeatable delivery of radioaerosols to the lungs of a patient. Devices may be plug-in units or hand-held, self-contained units which are automatically actuated at the same release point in a patient's inspiratory flow cycle. The device is loaded with a container of a radioactive formulation such as .sup.99m Tc-labelled diethylene-triamine pentaacetic acid (DTPA). Actuation of the device forces the radioactive formulation through a porous membrane of the container which membrane has pores having a diameter in the range of about 0.25 to 6.0 microns. The container includes radioactive shielding in the form of a lead coating and/or a lead surrounding packet. The porous membrane is positioned in alignment with a surface of a channel through which a patient inhales air.

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First Claim