Ventilation imaging with positron emission tomography and nitrogen 13.

Ventilation imaging using positron emission tomography (PET) and highly insoluble nitrogen 13 (N-13) was performed in one healthy volunteer and ten patients. These PET studies showed the three-dimensional distribution of ventilation abnormalities, such as peripheral air trapping, which xenon 133 studies had not revealed. Therefore, PET with N-13 may help elucidate more precisely the distribution and nature of ventilation abnormalities in various diseases.