Care Options Expand in Combined Pulmonary Care Facility
 A geometrical model of the chest wall generated by the OEP.
With the establishing of the Cecily and Robert Harris Pulmonary Diagnostic Center in 2007 and additional support from the Harris family during 2008, pulmonary specialties at NYP/Columbia consolidated evaluation, diagnostic, rehabilitation, and clinical consultation services into one suite and added sophisticated equipment and research capabilities.
The latest addition to this full-service pulmonary facility is an opto-electronic plethysmography (OEP) system.
A State-of-the-Art Pulmonary Evaluation Tool
OEP works similarly to the optical "skins" that enable movie animators to recreate an actor's body and movements.
Utilizing six specialized video cameras to track 90 optical markers applied to the patient's chest, the OEP measures breathing by recording the motion of the chest wall.
Advanced algorithms enable the system to provide highly accurate information about how much air the patient takes in, which portions of the lungs receive that air, and the mechanics of breathing.
Because it takes a picture rather than requiring a patient to exhale into a face mask or a mouthpiece, the OEP system is ideal for use with patients who cannot or will not participate, such as patients in intensive care, sedated patients, or children.
"This may be a diagnostic option for people who can't undergo pulmonary testing—and it allows us to test during exercise in ways not possible before," says Matthew N. Bartels, MD, MPH, John Alexander Downey Associate Professor of Clinical Rehabilitation Medicine.
Taking Patient Evaluation, Surgical Planning, and Outcomes Research to the Next Level
Currently in an evaluation phase, the system, which has been in use in Europe, was one of the first three in the United States.
"It is a very exciting tool because so many things we do, especially with thoracic surgery, involve the mechanics of breathing, and this allows us to look at the thoracic cavity a way never possible before," says Byron Thomashow, MD, Clinical Professor of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine.
Potential uses of the system include:
- Mapping which parts of the chest function better than others
- Analysis of hyperinflation in emphysema patients
- Analysis of coordination of the thoracic cavity
- Evaluation of respiratory muscle function in response to non-invasive ventilation in ALS patients
- Analysis of how a patient's breathing is improving through treatment
- Study of treatment outcomes such as comparing single vs. double lung transplant
- Surgical planning for procedures such as lung volume reduction, lung transplantantation, and scoliosis surgery
The NYP/Columbia Pulmonary Division and Rehabilitation Medicine Department are currently conducting a clinical trials phase with the system to evaluate its capabilities, to develop clinical protocols for its use, and establish ongoing research.
Once this phase is completed, clinical use of the system will commence.
Located on the third floor of the Vanderbilt Clinic on 168th Street and Broadway, the NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia pulmonary clinical suite is made up of the Fauth Center for Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation, the Cecily and Robert Harris Pulmonary Diagnostic Center, and the adjacent NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia Center for Chest Disease. The suite provides pulmonary evaluation, diagnostic, rehabilitation, and clinical consultation services for patients with the full range of lung diseases, from pulmonary hypertension to asthma to emphysema to interstitial lung disease.
Patients undergoing lung resection, lung volume reduction surgery, and lung transplantation receive pre- and post-surgical management at the facility.
Currently made up of a pulmonary function analysis area and a exercise laboratory outfitted with the OEP system, the Harris Center will be expanding during the next year to include a conference area for patient-focused clinical meetings.
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