Quantitative CT of the lung.

Lung disease is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality. HRCT, currently the best test to assess lung involvement in emphysema and interstitial lung disease, relies on abnormalities being detected when there is sufficient morphologic distortion to result in visually identified changes that, for the most part, correlate poorly with conventional lung function tests and outcome. QIA offers a technique to assess both structure and function on a regional and global basis. With the advent of user-friendly software packages, this approach is finding application in clinical practice and in clinical studies of new treatment alternatives for diffuse lung disease