Imaging the Lungs using Vibration Response Imaging (VRI)

A technological replacement for the stethoscope draws a 3D picture by gauging lung vibrations.

The process, which uses no radiation, works by analyzing acoustic vibrations given off by the lungs. As a patient breathes normally for several seconds, sensors placed on the back—in effect, electronic stethoscopes—pick up these lung vibrations and feed them to a computer, where they're processed and turned into vivid images. Conditions such as asthma, emphysema, and pneumonia each produce distinct and definable images.

See Business Week.