Airway visualization system

A method of visualizing an airway within a subject, comprising:

• positioning a delivery sheath through at least a portion of the airway and into proximity to a tissue region of interest within a lung;
• manipulating a fluid flow through at least one lumen of the delivery sheath such that a pressure change is imparted within the airway sufficient to at least partially manipulate a diameter of the airway to reconfigure between an open resting configuration and a collapsed configuration such that a change in density of the airway is imparted while a remainder of the lung remains unaffected;
• and
• obtaining an image of the airway via an imager while the position of the airway is manipulated.

A method of visualizing an airway within a subject, comprising:

• positioning a delivery sheath through at least a portion of the airway and into proximity to a tissue region of interest;
• obtaining a baseline image of the airway via an imager;
• manipulating a fluid flow through at least one lumen of the delivery sheath such that a pressure change is imparted within the airway sufficient to at least partially expand or collapse the airway such that a diameter of the airway is reconfigured to impart a change in density of the airway at a rate detectable by the imager;
• obtaining a target image of the airway via the imager;
• and
• digitally subtracting the target image from the baseline image to obtain a visual representation of the airway.

A method of visualizing an airway within a subject, comprising:

• positioning a delivery sheath through at least a portion of the airway and into proximity to a tissue region of interest within a lung;
• manipulating a fluid flow through at least one lumen of the delivery sheath such that an alternating pressure change is imparted within the airway;
• altering a diameter of the airway to reconfigure between a first diameter and a collapsed second diameter such that a change in density of the airway is imparted corresponding to the alternating pressure change;
• and
• visualizing the airway via an imager.

A method of altering a density of tissue within a subject, comprising:

• positioning a delivery sheath through at least a portion of the airways and into proximity to one or more structures of interest within a lung;
• manipulating a fluid flow through at least one lumen of the delivery sheath such that an alternating pressure change is imparted within the airways;
• altering a diameter of the airways to reconfigure between a first diameter and a collapsed second diameter such that the density of the airways is altered corresponding to the alternating pressure change, wherein the airways are in proximity to the one or more structures of interest;
• and
• visualizing the one or more structures of interest based on the airways in proximity to the one or more structures of interest via an imager.

A method of visualizing a tissue region of interest within a subject, comprising:

• positioning a delivery sheath through at least a portion of the airway and into proximity to the tissue region of interest within a lung;
• contacting a tissue wall of the airway with a portion of the delivery sheath;
• conducting a vibration from the portion of the delivery sheath and into the tissue wall such that the vibration is transmitted to the tissue region of interest;
• altering a density of the tissue region of interest between a first density and a second density such that a change in the density is imparted to the tissue region of interest via the vibration;
• and
• visualizing the tissue region of interest via an imager.