Introduction to the special issue on lung ultrasound

The potential of lung ultrasound (LUS) has become manifest in the light of the recent COVID-19 pandemic. The need for a point-of care, quantitative, and widely available assessment of lung condition is critical. However, conventional ultrasound imaging was never designed for lung assessment. This limits LUS to the subjective and qualitative interpretation of artifacts and imaging patterns visible on ultrasound images. A number of research groups have begun to tackle this limitation, and this special issue reports on their most recent findings. Through in silico, in vitro, and in vivo studies (preclinical animal studies and pilot clinical studies on human subjects), the research presented aims at understanding and modelling the physical phenomena involved in ultrasound propagation, and at leveraging these phenomena to extract semi-quantitative and quantitative information relevant to estimate changes in lung structure. These studies are the first steps in unlocking the full potential of lung ultrasound as a relevant tool for lung assessment.