Airways Measurement from Ct Images in Health and Asthma

Asthma is an obstructive airway disease that leads to airway remodeling. The analysis of this phenomenon may provide quantitative biomarkers to follow disease progression and evaluate the efficacy of treatments. In the present work, we aim to develop an algorithm for the accurate measurement of airway remodeling on CT images. The algorithm first segments the airway lumen and extracts the centerline of the tree, from which bifurcation points are identified to create a data structure to organize and store individual branches. Finally, a morphometric analysis is conducted to measure relevant structural parameters. The algorithm is validated by comparing automatic to manual measurements. The application of the algorithm on CT images of healthy volunteers and patients with asthma provides a quantitative description of airway remodeling, characterized by the narrowing of the lumen and the thickening of the bronchial wall.