Ultrasound is widely underestimated in pulmonary diagnostics. The main reasons are the improper geometry and the improper frequencies of standard ultrasonic apparatus. Only shallow and very local areas of the lung are accessible with conventional technology.  Specially adapted ultrasound systems work in annother frequency band and offer new options for intensive care and pneumology. The general advantages of diagnostic ultrasound - low side effects and a highly dynamic examination in contrast to a static X-ray or CT  -  are conserved. An almost continuous lung monitoring is particularly important for intensive care patients under mechanical ventilation. The reasons are well known: The patient and the patient´s lung are in critical condition and mechanical ventilation has - although essential for the patient - significant side effects: Pneumonia, Barotrauma and many others are not rare and often letal for the patient. Therefore the correct adjustment of ventilation parameters and also the re-adjustment in short intervals (the lung parameters drift under mechanical ventialtion!) is so important.

What´s going on in the lungs of a ventilated patient? Are the lung parts properly recruited? Are there edemas ore atelectatic areas somewhere in the thorax?