Mar 22, 2016

March 22nd, 2016 Editors Cardiology , Medicine , Thoracic Surgery PneumaCare, a firm based in Cambridgeshire, England, announced FDA clearance of its Thora-3DI contact-free breath assessment system. The product shines a black and white checkerboard grid onto the patient’s chest which allows it to make 3D recordings of the chest wall motion. It detects chest movement with an accuracy down to .25 mm and naturally provides highly accurate respiration rate readings. The technology within the Thora-3DI is called Structured Light Plethysmography (SLP) and using it clinicians can spot differences between the left and right lung movement, how the chest and abdomen correlate, and other similar issues. Accompanying software provides in-depth analysis of  the readings and provides 3D visualization of the chest movement during the recordings. Some more details according to the product page: PneumaCare’s software provides the operator with the ability to divide the image into defined regions for comparison of the patient’s symmetry of breathing. These regional contributions can be analysed by comparing the upper chest and abdomen or the left and right sides of the chest; detailing potential asymmetries that are indicative of respiratory-related issues. By measuring the chest wall, the Thora-3DI™ can show the clinician the dynamics of lung function in real time, reflecting respiratory function, and divide that performance data into various regional assessments for comparison. This provides a deeper understanding of the patient’s lung function. Using Thora-3DI™, the  clinician can understand objectively – qualitatively and quantitatively – not only the patient’s lung performance symmetries but also the change of that performance over time. This can be done without the need of forced manoeuver testing or movement of the patient to a measurement site. Moreover, the patient can be sitting or lying, conscious or unconscious because Thora-3DI™ is non-invasive and does not require any direct interaction with the patient.