Dataset Information

Imaging alveolar-capillary gas transfer using hyperpolarized 129Xe MRI.

ABSTRACT: Effective pulmonary gas exchange relies on the free diffusion of gases across the thin tissue barrier separating airspace from the capillary red blood cells (RBCs). Pulmonary pathologies, such as inflammation, fibrosis, and edema, which cause an increased blood-gas barrier thickness, impair the efficiency of this exchange. However, definitive assessment of such gas-exchange abnormalities is challenging, because no methods currently exist to directly image the gas transfer process. Here we exploit the solubility and chemical shift of (129)Xe, the magnetic resonance signal of which has been enhanced by 10(5) with hyperpolarization, to differentially image its transfer from the airspaces into the tissue barrier spaces and RBCs in the gas exchange regions of the lung. Based on a simple diffusion model, we estimate that this MR imaging method for measuring (129)Xe alveolar-capillary transfer is sensitive to changes in blood-gas barrier thickness of approximately 5 microm. We validate the successful separation of tissue barrier and RBC images and show the utility of this method in a rat model of pulmonary fibrosis where (129)Xe replenishment of the RBCs is severely impaired in regions of lung injury.

SUBMITTER: Driehuys B

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1838742 | biostudies-literature | 2006 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Imaging alveolar-capillary gas transfer using hyperpolarized 129Xe MRI.

Driehuys Bastiaan B Cofer Gary P GP Pollaro Jim J Mackel Julie Boslego JB Hedlund Laurence W LW Johnson G Allan GA

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20061113 48

Effective pulmonary gas exchange relies on the free diffusion of gases across the thin tissue barrier separating airspace from the capillary red blood cells (RBCs). Pulmonary pathologies, such as inflammation, fibrosis, and edema, which cause an increased blood-gas barrier thickness, impair the efficiency of this exchange. However, definitive assessment of such gas-exchange abnormalities is challenging, because no methods currently exist to directly image the gas transfer process. Here we exploi ...[more]

PMID: 17101964

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Project description:PURPOSE:To perform magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), human lung imaging, and quantification of the gas-transfer dynamics of hyperpolarized xenon-129 (HPX) from the alveoli into the blood plasma. MATERIALS AND METHODS:HPX MRI with iterative decomposition of water and fat with echo asymmetry and least-square estimation (IDEAL) approach were used with multi-interleaved spiral k-space sampling to obtain HPX gas and dissolved phase images. IDEAL time-series images were then obtained from ten subjects including six normal subjects and four patients with pulmonary emphysema to test the feasibility of the proposed technique for capturing xenon-129 gas-transfer dynamics (XGTD). The dynamics of xenon gas diffusion over the entire lung was also investigated by measuring the signal intensity variations between three regions of interest, including the left and right lungs and the heart using Welch's t test. RESULTS:The technique enabled the acquisition of HPX gas and dissolved phase compartment images in a single breath-hold interval of 8 s. The y-intersect of the XGTD curves were also found to be statistically lower in the patients with lung emphysema than in the healthy group (p?<?0.05). CONCLUSION:This time-series IDEAL technique enables the visualization and quantification of inhaled xenon from the alveoli to the left ventricle with a clinical gradient strength magnet during a single breath-hold, in healthy and diseased lungs. KEY POINTS:• The proposed hyperpolarized xenon-129 gas and dissolved magnetic resonance imaging technique can provide regional and temporal measurements of xenon-129 gas-transfer dynamics. • Quantitative measurement of xenon-129 gas-transfer dynamics from the alveolar to the heart was demonstrated in normal subjects and pulmonary emphysema. • Comparison of gas-transfer dynamics in normal subjects and pulmonary emphysema showed that the proposed technique appears sensitive to changes affecting the alveoli, pulmonary interstitium, and capillaries.

Project description:The noninvasive assessment of regional lung ventilation is of critical importance in the quantification of the severity of disease and evaluation of response to therapy in many pulmonary diseases. This work presents, for the first time, the implementation of a hyperpolarized (HP) gas MRI technique to measure whole-lung regional fractional ventilation (r) in Yorkshire pigs (n = 5) through the use of a gas mixing and delivery device in the supine position. The proposed technique utilizes a series of back-to-back HP gas breaths with images acquired during short end-inspiratory breath-holds. In order to decouple the radiofrequency pulse decay effect from the ventilatory signal build-up in the airways, the regional distribution of the flip angle (α) was estimated in the imaged slices by acquiring a series of back-to-back images with no interscan time delay during a breath-hold at the tail end of the ventilation sequence. Analysis was performed to assess the sensitivity of the multislice ventilation model to noise, oxygen and the number of flip angle images. The optimal α value was determined on the basis of the minimization of the error in r estimation: α(opt) = 5-6º for the set of acquisition parameters in pigs. The mean r values for the group of pigs were 0.27 ± 0.09, 0.35 ± 0.06 and 0.40 ± 0.04 for the ventral, middle and dorsal slices, respectively (excluding conductive airways r 0.9). A positive gravitational (ventral-dorsal) ventilation gradient effect was present in all animals. The trachea and major conductive airways showed a uniform near-unity r value, with progressively smaller values corresponding to smaller diameter airways, and ultimately leading to lung parenchyma. The results demonstrate the feasibility of the measurement of the fractional ventilation in large species, and provide a platform to address the technical challenges associated with long breathing time scales through the optimization of acquisition parameters in species with a pulmonary physiology very similar to that of humans.

Dataset Information

Imaging alveolar-capillary gas transfer using hyperpolarized 129Xe MRI.

Publications

Imaging alveolar-capillary gas transfer using hyperpolarized 129Xe MRI.

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