Diaphragm ultrasound (DUS) has shown the possibility of an effective imaging biomarker that can be used to distinguish between exacerbated and stable COPD in patients. A team of scientists from the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, studied 55 patients between March 2020 and November 2020 to evaluate the role of DUS as a biomarker for distinguishing AECOPD, with the consideration of other contributing factors such as sex, age and BMI. It was earlier known that evaluation of the diaphragm muscle in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) holds importance, but this was the first time the potential role of DUS in distinguishing the exacerbation status of COPD (AECOPD) has been explored. The researchers said in the report, published in International Journal of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, that the DUS findings can be used in the future as novel complementary imaging biomarkers of COPD.