Electrical impedance tomography (EIT) is an emerging non-invasive and non-ionizing imaging technique. It may be particularly useful for preterm infants, who have heterogeneous lung disease with ventilation and perfusion abnormalities. Preterm infants with severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia (sBPD) requiring invasive mechanical ventilation are sometimes supported with specific ventilation strategies aimed to address their heterogeneous disease [1]. We used EIT to characterize a preterm infant with established sBPD supported by varying methods of invasive and non-invasive mechanical ventilation throughout her postnatal course.
Starting at 42 weeks post-menstrual age (PMA), EIT was performed every 3–5 weeks for 5 timepoints on a preterm infant born at 27 weeks gestation with severe fetal growth restriction (birth weight 450 g), sBPD, pulmonary hypertension, Scimitar Syndrome, mesocardia, and chronic respiratory failure ultimately requiring tracheostomy and mechanical ventilation.
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Fig. 1: Longitudinal axial images of EIT ventilation and perfusion.
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Authors and Affiliations
University of Colorado, Department of Pediatrics, Section of Pulmonology and Sleep Medicine, Aurora, CO, USA
Katelyn G. Enzer & Christopher D. Baker
Colorado State University, School of Biomedical Engineering, Aurora, CO, USA
Nilton Barbosa da Rosa
Colorado State University, Department of Mathematics, Aurora, CO, USA
Christopher Rocheleau
University of Albany, College of Nanotechnology, Science, and Engineering, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Albany, NY, USA
Gary Saulnier
Colorado State University, Department of Mathematics and School of Biomedical Engineering, Aurora, CO, USA
Jennifer L. Mueller
Authors
Katelyn G. Enzer
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2. Nilton Barbosa da Rosa
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3. Christopher Rocheleau
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4. Gary Saulnier
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5. Jennifer L. Mueller
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6. Christopher D. Baker
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Contributions
KGE: research conception and design, data acquisition, data analysis, drafting of manuscript, critical revision of manuscript. NBdR: data acquisition, data analysis, critical revision of manuscript. CR: data analysis, critical revision of manuscript. GS: data analysis, critical revision of manuscript. JLM: research conception and design, data acquisition, data analysis, critical revision of manuscript. CDB: research conception and design, data acquisition, data analysis, critical revision of manuscript. All authors gave approval of the final manuscript.
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Correspondence to Katelyn G. Enzer.
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This study was approved by the Colorado Multiple Institutional Review Board #18-1843. Legal guardians provided consent for study participation and approved the use of subject images for this publication. Supplemental videos show spatial ventilatory heterogeneity with differing ventilation strategies and breath sizes.
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Supplemental Video Captions
Ventilation during Visit 1 of 5
Perfusion during Visit 1 of 5
Ventilation during Visit 2 of 5
Perfusion during Visit 2 of 5.
Ventilation during Visit 3 of 5
Perfusion during Visit 3 of 5.
Ventilation during Visit 4 of 5
Perfusion during Visit 4 of 5
Ventilation during Visit 5 of 5
Perfusion during Visit 5 of 5
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Enzer, K.G., Barbosa da Rosa, N., Rocheleau, C. et al. Electrical impedance tomography imaging of ventilation and perfusion in bronchopulmonary dysplasia. J Perinatol (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-025-02236-x
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Received:20 September 2024
Revised:29 January 2025
Accepted:11 February 2025
Published:07 March 2025
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-025-02236-x
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