Assessment of flip angle-TR equivalence for standardized dissolved-phase imaging of the lung with hyperpolarized 129Xe MRI.

PURPOSE: To investigate the feasibility of describing the impact of any flip angle-TR combination on the resulting distribution of the hyperpolarized xenon-129 (HXe) dissolved-phase magnetization in the chest using a single virtual parameter, TR90°,equiv . METHODS: HXe MRI scans with simultaneous gas- (GP) and dissolved-phase (DP) excitation were performed using 2D projection scans in mechanically ventilated rabbits. Measurements with DP flip angles ranging from 6-90° and TRs ranging from 8.3-500 ms were conducted. DP maps based on acquisitions of similar radio frequency pulse-induced relaxation rates were compared. RESULTS: The observed distribution of the DP magnetization was strongly affected by acquisition flip angle and TR. However, for flip angles up to 60°, measurements with the same radio frequency pulse-induced relaxation rates, resulted in very similar DP images despite the presence of significant macroscopic gas transport processes. For flip angles approaching 90°, the downstream signal component decreased noticeably relative to acquisitions with lower flip angles. Nevertheless, the total DP signal continued to follow an empirically verified conversion equation over the entire investigated parameter range, which yields the equivalent TR of a hypothetical 90° measurement for any experimental flip angle-TR combination. CONCLUSION: We have introduced a method for converting the flip angle and TR of a given HXe DP measurement to a standardized metric based on the virtual quantity, TR90°,equiv , using their equivalent RF relaxation rates. This conversion permits the comparison of measurements obtained with different pulse sequence types or by different research groups using various acquisition parameters.

Assessment of Pulmonary Gas Transport in Rabbits Using Hyperpolarized Xenon-129 Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

Many forms of lung disease manifest themselves as pathological changes in the transport of gas to the circulatory system, yet the difficulty of imaging this process remains a central obstacle to the comprehensive diagnosis of lung disorders. Using hyperpolarized xenon-129 as a surrogate marker for oxygen, we derived the temporal dynamics of gas transport from the ratio of two lung images obtained with different timing parameters. Additionally, by monitoring changes in the total hyperpolarized xenon signal intensity in the left side of the heart induced by depletion of xenon signal in the alveolar airspaces of interest, we quantified the contributions of selected lung volumes to the total pulmonary gas transport. In a rabbit model, we found that it takes at least 200 ms for xenon gas to enter the lung tissue and travel the distance from the airspaces to the heart. Additionally, our method shows that both lungs contribute fairly equally to the gas transport in healthy rabbits, but that this ratio changes in a rabbit model of acid aspiration. These results suggest that hyperpolarized xenon-129 MRI may improve our ability to measure pulmonary gas transport and detect associated pathological changes.

Rapid assessment of pulmonary gas transport with hyperpolarized 129Xe MRI using a 3D radial double golden-means acquisition with variable flip angles.

PURPOSE: To demonstrate the feasibility of using a 3D radial double golden-means acquisition with variable flip angles to monitor pulmonary gas transport in a single breath hold with hyperpolarized xenon-129 MRI. METHODS: Hyperpolarized xenon-129 MRI scans with interleaved gas-phase and dissolved-phase excitations were performed using a 3D radial double golden-means acquisition in mechanically ventilated rabbits. The flip angle was either held fixed at 15 ° or 5 °, or it was varied linearly in ascending or descending order between 5 ° and 15 ° over a sampling interval of 1000 spokes. Dissolved-phase and gas-phase images were reconstructed at high resolution (32 × 32 × 32 matrix size) using all 1000 spokes, or at low resolution (22 × 22 × 22 matrix size) using 400 spokes at a time in a sliding-window fashion. Based on these sliding-window images, relative change maps were obtained using the highest mean flip angle as the reference, and aggregated pixel-based changes were tracked. RESULTS: Although the signal intensities in the dissolve-phase maps were mostly constant in the fixed flip-angle acquisitions, they varied significantly as a function of average flip angle in the variable flip-angle acquisitions. The latter trend reflects the underlying changes in observed dissolve-phase magnetization distribution due to pulmonary gas uptake and transport. CONCLUSION: 3D radial double golden-means acquisitions with variable flip angles provide a robust means for rapidly assessing lung function during a single breath hold, thereby constituting a particularly valuable tool for imaging uncooperative or pediatric patient populations.

A hybrid multibreath wash-in wash-out lung function quantification scheme in human subjects using hyperpolarized 3 He MRI for simultaneous assessment of specific ventilation, alveolar oxygen tension, oxygen uptake, and air trapping.

PURPOSE: To present a method for simultaneous acquisition of alveolar oxygen tension (PA O2 ), specific ventilation (SV), and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) of hyperpolarized (HP) gas in the human lung, allowing reinterpretation of the PA O2 and SV maps to produce a map of oxygen uptake (R). METHOD: An imaging scheme was designed with a series of identical normoxic HP gas wash-in breaths to measure ADC, SV, PA O2 , and R in less than 2 min. Signal dynamics were fit to an iterative recursive model that regionally solved for these parameters. This measurement was successfully performed in 12 subjects classified in three healthy, smoker, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) cohorts. RESULTS: The overall whole lung ADC, SV, PA O2 , and R in healthy, smoker, and COPD subjects was 0.20 ± 0.03 cm2 /s, 0.39 ± 0.06,113 ± 2 Torr, and 1.55 ± 0.35 Torr/s, respectively, in healthy subjects; 0.21 ± 0.03 cm2 /s, 0.33 ± 0.06, 115.9 ± 4 Torr, and 0.97 ± 0.2 Torr/s, respectively, in smokers; and 0.25 ± 0.06 cm2 /s, 0.23 ± 0.08, 114.8 ± 6.0Torr, and 0.94 ± 0.12 Torr/s, respectively, in subjects with COPD. Hetrogeneity of SV, PA O2 , and R were indicators of both smoking-related changes and disease, and the severity of the disease correlated with the degree of this heterogeneity. Subjects with symptoms showed reduced oxygen uptake and specific ventilation. CONCLUSION: High-resolution, nearly coregistered and quantitative measures of lung function and structure were obtained with less than 1 L of HP gas. This hybrid multibreath technique produced measures of lung function that revealed clear differences among the cohorts and subjects and were confirmed by correlations with global lung measurements. Magn Reson Med 78:611-624, 2017. © 2016 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.

Alterations of regional alveolar oxygen tension in asymptomatic current smokers: assessment with hyperpolarized (3)He MR imaging.

PURPOSE: To assess the ability of helium 3 ((3)He) magnetic resonance (MR) imaging of regional alveolar partial pressure of oxygen (Pao2) to depict smoking-induced functional alterations and to compare its efficacy to that of current diagnostic techniques. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was approved by the local institutional review board and was compliant with HIPAA. All subjects provided informed consent. A total of 43 subjects were separated into three groups: nonsmokers, asymptomatic smokers, and symptomatic smokers. All subjects underwent a Pao2 imaging session followed by clinically standard pulmonary function tests (PFTs), the 6-minute walk test, and St George Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ). The whole-lung mean and standard deviation of Pao2 were compared with metrics derived from PFTs, the 6-minute walk test, and the SGRQ. A logistic regression model was developed to identify the predictors of alterations to the lungs of asymptomatic smokers. RESULTS: The whole-lung standard deviation of Pao2 correlated with PFT metrics (forced expiratory volume in 1 second [FEV1]/forced vital capacity [FVC], Pearson r = -0.69, P < .001; percentage predicted FEV1, Pearson r = -0.67, P < .001; diffusing capacity of lung for carbon monoxide [Dlco], Pearson r = -0.45, P = .003), SGRQ score (Pearson r = 0.67, P < .001), and distance walked in 6 minutes (Pearson r = -0.47, P = .002). The standard deviation of Pao2 was significantly higher in asymptomatic smokers than in nonsmokers (change in the standard deviation of Pao2 = 7.59 mm Hg, P = .041) and lower when compared with symptomatic smokers (change in the standard deviation of Pao2 = 10.72 mm Hg, P = .001). A multivariate prediction model containing FEV1/FVC and the standard deviation of Pao2 (as significant predictors of subclinical changes in smokers) and Dlco (as a confounding variable) was formulated. This model resulted in an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve with a significant increase of 29.2% when compared with a prediction model based solely on nonimaging clinical tests. CONCLUSION: The (3)He MR imaging heterogeneity metric (standard deviation of Pao2) enabled the differentiation of all three study cohorts, which indicates that it can depict smoking-related functional alterations in asymptomatic current smokers.