Cystic Fibrosis: Combined Hyperpolarized³He-enhanced and Conventional Proton MR Imaging in the Lung—Preliminary Observations

Abstract

Four patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) were examined with combined hyperpolarized helium 3-enhanced and conventional proton magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. After inhalation of the polarized 3He gas, single breath-hold, gradient-echo images (resonant frequency of 3He) were obtained to depict lung ventilation. Conventional T2-weighted fast spin-echo (hydrogen) images were also obtained to depict morphologic abnormalities. 3He images were successfully and reproducibly generated that showed both morphologic abnormalities and, often more extensive, ventilation abnormalities. 3He MR imaging may provide a method for evaluating progression of pulmonary disease in patients with CF.

Hyperpolarized 3He MR lung ventilation imaging in asthmatics: Preliminary findings

“…Since then, several groups have evaluated hyperpolarized gas lung imaging in normal subjects and in a variety of disease states (11)(12)(13)(14). Ventilation defects have been seen in subjects with emphysema, bronchogenic carcinoma, cystic fibrosis, and bronchiectasis.…”

“…Hyperpolarized gas imaging has the potential to increase our understanding of lung ventilation disturbances in a variety of lung diseases, and has been used to image lung ventilation in emphysema (12,13), lung cancer (12) and cystic fibrosis (14). To our knowledge, hyperpolarized gas MR lung imaging has not been previously evaluated in asthmatics.…”

Functional lung imaging using hyperpolarized gas MRI

“…Similar measures, combined with quantitative measures of airway lumen size and wall thickness, may also allow measurement of gas trapping and airway narrowing associated with other obstructive lung diseases such as asthma (24). Although HR CT can provide quantitative assessment and diagnosis of the anatomical features of lung diseases, HP MRI has the means to perform a range of functional measures including regional ventilation (25)(26)(27), and V A /Q mapping (28,29), while also providing images of regional microstructure-in some applications at length scales similar to or smaller than those depicted on CT (30,31)-and all of these measures are performed without ionizing radiation.…”

Functional Imaging: CT and MRI

“…It is possible to obtain a 3D volumetric dataset of the lungs using this technique (169), and several authors have shown the utility of this technique in normal volunteers, patients with asthma, emphysema (including alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency; Figure 10A), cystic fibrosis ( Figure 10B) and lung cancer ( Figure 10C). (170)(171)(172)(173)(174)(175)(176)(177) There is homogeneous ventilation distribution in normal volunteers, although small ventilation defects are frequently seen. (170,(178)(179)(180) In smoking subjects with normal pulmonary function tests, ventilation defects are usually already detectable.…”