LungVis 1.0: Precision Therapy for Lung Diseases with AI-Driven Imaging

Lung diseases, including asthma and emphysema, often preferentially affect specific regions of the lung, highlighting the need for precise drug delivery to achieve effective treatment. A team led by Dr. Lin Yang and Dr. Otmar Schmid from the DZL site CPC-M (Munich) has developed LungVis 1.0, a new AI-enhanced imaging platform. This technology is set to transform precision therapy for lung diseases by enabling the targeted delivery of inhaled drugs to the most affected areas of the lung. The study was published in Nature Communications.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) millions of people worldwide suffer from asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), emphysema, and other lung conditions, which severely impact quality of life and pose significant health challenges. Delivering medication directly to the diseased regions of the lungs is crucial for effective treatment, making inhalation therapy a cornerstone for targeted, fast-acting relief. However, ensuring that inhaled drugs accurately reach their intended destination remains a persistent hurdle. To tackle this challenge, researchers at the CPC-M have developed LungVis 1.0, an AI-powered imaging platform set to transform preclinical lung research and advance the precision of inhalation therapies.

Optimizing Drug Delivery with AI

LungVis 1.0 is an automated imaging platform that maps inhaled drugs and specific cell types with high precision across the complex architecture of mouse lungs. By leveraging artificial intelligence (AI), the platform can pinpoint drug deposition within bronchial, alveolar, or diseased regions, providing researchers with unprecedented insights into how inhaled therapies interact with lung tissue.

“The combination of advanced imaging technology and artificial intelligence is key for precisely co-mapping the dose and location of inhaled drugs throughout the lung with high resolution and unprecedented short image processing time,” said Ling Yang, the first author of the study. “LungVis 1.0 enables 3D morphometric assessment of lung health, disease progression, and the therapeutic efficacy of innovative treatments such as mRNA-lipid nanoparticles.”

New Insight into Lung Biology

With its ability to uncover how inhaled drugs and nanoparticles interact with lung cells, LungVis 1.0 marks a significant advancement in preclinical research and therapeutical development of nanomedicine. This platform not only facilitates the development of targeted treatments but also offers valuable insights into the cellular mechanisms underlying lung health and disease. Notably, the research team discovered that macrophages residing deep in the lung tissue, so called interstitial macrophages, are more actively involved in maintaining healthy lung conditions after exposure to nanoparticles than previously thought.

“This technology paves the way for delivering inhaled drugs precisely to where they are needed most in the lung,” explained Otmar Schmid, last author of the study. “It also deepens our understanding of lung biology, shedding light on the previously underestimated role of interstitial macrophages in maintaining lung health following nanoparticle exposure.”

Source: Nature Communications: – CPC - M

Original publication: Yang, L., Liu, Q., Kumar, P. et al. LungVis 1.0: an automatic AI-powered 3D imaging ecosystem unveils spatial profiling of nanoparticle delivery and acinar migration of lung macrophages. Nat Commun 15, 10138 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-54267-1.