title: Imaging of the lungs using 3He MRI: preliminary clinical experience in 18 patients with and without lung disease.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to describe the 3He MRI findings of normal pulmonary ventilation in healthy volunteers and to evaluate abnormalities in patients with different lung diseases. Hyperpolarized 3He gas (300 ml, 3 x 10(5) Pa, polarized to 35-45% by optical pumping, provided in special glass cells) was inhaled by 8 healthy volunteers and 10 patients with different lung diseases. Imaging was performed with a three-dimensional fast low-angle shot (FLASH) sequence (TR = 11.8 msec; TE = 5 msec; transmitter amplitude, 5-8 V; corresponding flip angle, < 5 degrees) in a single breath-hold (22-42 seconds). Clinical and radiological examinations were available for correlation. The studies were performed successfully in eight of eight volunteers and in 8 of 10 patients. The lung parenchyma of volunteers with normal ventilatory function exhibited rather homogeneous intermediate to high signal, whereas patients with chronic obstructive lung disease or bronchiectasis presented with severe signal inhomogeneities with patchy or wedge-shaped defects. The mass effect of bronchogenic carcinoma, chronic empyema, lymphadenopathy, or pleural effusion caused large signal defects, representing the lesion and adjacent hypoventilation, the extent of which had not been presumed from chest x-ray or CT. 3He MRI is a promising new modality for the assessment of pulmonary ventilation and its abnormalities. Additional studies are needed to determine its potential clinical role.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Germany. kauczor@radiologie.klinik.uni-mainz.de
authors.forename: H U
authors.initials: HU
authors.lastname: Kauczor
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ebert
authors.forename: K F
authors.initials: KF
authors.lastname: Kreitner
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nilgens
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Surkau
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Heil
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hofmann
authors.forename: E W
authors.initials: EW
authors.lastname: Otten
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Thelen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006371:Helium; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods*; D008168:Lung / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D008171:Lung Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008173:Lung Diseases, Obstructive / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012123:Pulmonary Ventilation / Q000502:physiology; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
chemical_list: D006371:Helium