Usefulness of Vibration Response Imaging (VRI) for Pneumonia Patients.

Park, Eugene; Park, Jung Hee; Hong, Mi Jin; Kim, Won Dong; Lee, Kye Young; Kim, Sun Jong; Kim, Hee Joung; Ha, Kyoung Won; Chon, Gyu Rak; Kim, Hyun Ai; Yoo, Kwang Ha

doi:2011.71.1.30

Tuberc Respir Dis > Volume 71(1); 2011 > Article

Original Article

Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases 2011;71(1):30-36.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4046/trd.2011.71.1.30 Published online July 1, 2011.

Usefulness of Vibration Response Imaging (VRI) for Pneumonia Patients.

Eugene Park, Jung Hee Park, Mi Jin Hong, Won Dong Kim, Kye Young Lee, Sun Jong Kim, Hee Joung Kim, Kyoung Won Ha, Gyu Rak Chon, Hyun Ai Kim, Kwang Ha Yoo

¹Department of Internal Medicine, Konkuk University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. khyou@kuh.ac.kr
²Department of Internal Medicine, Konkuk University Chungju Hospital, Chungju, Korea.

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Pneumonia is commonly seen in outpatient clinics. it is widely known as the most common cause of death from infectious disease. Pneumonia has been diagnosed by its typical symptoms, chest X-ray and blood tests. However, both chest X-rays and blood tests have limitations in diagnosis. Thus primary care clinicians usually have been constrained due to a lack of adequate diagnostic tools. Vibration response imaging (VRI) is a newly emerging diagnostic modality, and its procedure is non-invasive, radiation-free, and easy to handle. This study was designed to evaluate the diagnostic usefulness of the VRI test among pneumonia patients and to consider its correlation with other conventional tests such as Chest X-ray, laboratory tests and clinical symptoms. METHODS: VRI was performed in 46 patients diagnosed with pneumonia in Konkuk University Medical Center. VRI was assessed in a private and quiet room twice: before and after the treatment. Sensors for VRI were placed on a patient's back at regular intervals; they detected pulmonary vibration energy produced when respiration occurred and presented as specific images. Any modifications either in chest X-ray, C-reactive protein (CRP), white blood cell count (WBC) or body temperature were compared with changes in VRI image during a given time course. RESULTS: VRI, chest X-ray and CRP scores were significantly improved after treatment. Correlation between VRI and other tests was not clearly indicated among all patients. But relatively severe pneumonia patients showed correlations between VRI and chest X-ray, as well as between VRI and CRP. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that VRI can be safely applied to patients with pneumonia.

Key Words: Repiratory Sounds, Vibration, Pneumonia