Hyperpolarized 129Xe lung MRI in spontaneously breathing mice with respiratory gated fast imaging and its application to pulmonary functional imaging

• Published in: NMR in biomedicine Vol. 24; no. 10; pp. 1343 - 1352
• Main Authors: Imai, Hirohiko, Kimura, Atsuomi, Hori, Yuki, Iguchi, Satoshi, Kitao, Takuya, Okubo, Emi, Ito, Tsuyoshi, Matsuzaki, Toshio, Fujiwara, Hideaki
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chichester, UK John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 01.12.2011; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Animals; balanced steady-state free precession; compressed sensing; emphysema; hyperpolarized 129Xe; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; Lung - pathology; Lung - physiopathology; lung MRI; Magnetic Resonance Imaging - methods; Mice; pulmonary function; Respiration; respiratory gating; spontaneous breathing; Staining and Labeling; Time Factors; Xenon - metabolism; Xenon Isotopes
• ISSN: 0952-3480; 1099-1492
• DOI: 10.1002/nbm.1697

In the present study, a balanced steady‐state free precession pulse sequence combined with compressed sensing was applied to hyperpolarized 129Xe lung imaging in spontaneously breathing mice. With the aid of fast imaging techniques, the temporal resolution was markedly improved in the resulting images. Using these protocols and respiratory gating, 129Xe lung images in end‐inspiratory and end‐expiratory phases were obtained successfully. The application of these techniques for pulmonary functional imaging made it possible to simultaneously evaluate regional ventilation and gas exchange in the same animal. A comparative study between healthy and elastase‐induced mouse models of emphysema showed abnormal ventilation as well as gas exchange in elastase‐treated mice. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Fast imaging techniques of the balanced steady‐state free precession (bSSFP) sequence combined with compressed sensing (CS) and respiratory gating were applied to hyperpolarized 129Xe lung imaging in spontaneously breathing mice. These protocols allowed the mapping of pulmonary functions and made it possible to extract abnormal ventilation and gas exchange simultaneously in elastase‐induced mouse models of emphysema.