Introduction to Lung CT AI
AI: An Intelligent Agent The foundation for this book about lung CT AI is the application of what Alan Turing described in 1936 as the “universal Turing machine.” This is…
Medical Thoracoscopy
Introduction Thoracoscopy, video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS), medical thoracoscopy (MT), and pleuroscopy are minimally invasive procedures that provide access to the pleural space. They differ only in the approach to anesthesia….
The Endoscopic Application of Medication to the Airway
Introduction Since its discovery in 1876, bronchoscopy has served a fundamental role in the diagnosis and management of pulmonary disease. Over the past few decades, the therapeutic capabilities of bronchoscopy…
Chest Tubes and Indwelling Pleural Catheters
Chest Tubes Definition Tube thoracostomy has been described since antiquity, with the earliest accounts of using a tube for drainage of empyema from the pleural cavity from Hippocrates. Original chest…
Percutaneous Tracheostomy
Introduction Tracheostomy is derived from the Latin words “trachea arteria” and “ostium,” which means “creating an opening in the trachea.” The earliest documentation of tracheostomy is a description of the…
How to Start an Interventional Pulmonology Program
Introduction With ongoing advances in medical diagnostics and therapeutics, interventional pulmonology (IP) is playing an ever more impactful role in health care. This is becoming more evident with the increasing…
Multimodality Approach to Benign Central Airway Obstruction
Introduction Central airway obstruction (CAO) is the narrowing of central airways (trachea, mainstem bronchi, and bronchus intermedius) due to benign and malignant diseases. In this chapter we focus on CAO…
Multimodality Approach to Malignant Airway Obstruction
Introduction The goal of this chapter is to provide an effective, systematic, multimodality bronchoscopic approach to the problem of malignant airway obstruction that facilitates proper integration of all of the…
Bronchoscopic Lung Volume Reduction
Introduction Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) causes considerable morbidity, mortality, and health care expenditure both in the United States and globally. For COPD patients with burdensome symptoms despite standard medical…
Bronchial Thermoplasty
Introduction Asthma affects over 300 million people throughout the world, with a high burden of morbidity and mortality. According to World Health Organization (WHO) estimates, approximately 250, 000 people die…
