October 3, 2011 — Medspira will introduce Breath Hold, a standalone system for respiration monitoring during radiation therapy (RT) treatments, at RSNA 2011. The device is specifically designed for treatments involving the lungs and upper abdomen. It enables patients to accurately self-monitor their breathing patterns based on biofeedback delivered by the device’s simple visual display.
Breath Hold represents a non-intrusive way to promote predictable breath hold and breathing patterns, enabling precise targeting of tissue affected by respiratory motion. It will enable a far greater number of sites to effectively address the problems of motion due to patient free breathing during radiation treatments involving the lungs and upper abdomen, particularly treatments of the left breast.
The new device complements Medspira’s existing Breath Hold technology for image guided biopsies and other applications in which respiratory motion is an issue.
The device incorporates an expandable bellows system and a pressure sensitive transducer tube, which is wrapped around the patient’s chest or stomach. During the treatment, patients watch an LED monitor, which presents their breathing pattern as a series of lights. A reference point, typically either an inhale or exhale, is selected to help the patient establish a consistent light pattern on the LED display.
For more information: www.medspira.com
October 30, 2026 
