Seminars Archive

Synchrotron-Based Multiscale and Multimodel Characterisation of Human-Sized Lungs and the Potential for Future In Vivo Patient Lung CT

Claudia V. Benke (Scientific Ambassador of Euro-BioImaging) on behalf of the Italian Lung Project and SYRMEP team
Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Heidelberg University Hospital, Translational Lung Research Center Heidelberg (TLRC), German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Heidelberg, Germany

Abstract
Comprehensive structural characterisation of human-sized lungs remains challenging due to their size, the complex air-tissue interfaces, and the limited spatial resolution of current clinical CT. Conventional diagnostic CT cannot resolve fine microstructural features, such as alveolar architecture or small airway alterations, while histological validation is hampered by post-excision lung collapse and loss of spatial context. These limitations restrict multiscale analysis and impede precise identification and correlation of pathological regions. We developed a workflow using synchrotron propagation-based phase-contrast imaging (PBI) and formaldehyde vapour fixation, preserving the inflated state of human-sized lungs and allowing for seamless hierarchical imaging from the whole organ down to sub-cellular resolution. We used ex vivo human and large animal lungs, as well as an anthropomorphic lung phantom, to evaluate imaging performance at clinically relevant dimensions and radiation doses. The vapour-fixation protocol successfully preserved lung morphology for multiscale analysis. Synchrotron PBI significantly outperformed clinical CT in soft-tissue contrast, resolving small airway alterations previously invisible to diagnostics without exceeding clinically relevant radiation dose levels. The workflow facilitated accurate, 3D-guided histological sampling, improving correlation between imaging and cellular pathology. This approach bridges the gap between macro-scale radiology and microscopic pathology. By enabling precise characterisation of large lungs, this work paves the way for future high-resolution, in vivo CT and enhanced disease detection.


From Benke et al. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12931-026-03561-1