title: Simultaneous imaging of lung structure and function with triple-nuclear hybrid MR imaging.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To re-engineer a standard clinical magnetic resonance (MR) imaging system to enable the acquisition, in the same breath hold, of lung images from two hyperpolarized gases (helium 3 [(3)He] and xenon 129 [(129)Xe]) with simultaneous registered anatomic proton (hydrogen 1 [(1)H]) MR images of lung structure.
  
  
  METHODS
  Studies with (3)He and (129)Xe were performed with National Research Ethics Committee approval, with informed consent from the volunteer. (1)H-(3)He-(129)Xe MR imaging was achieved in the same breath by using mutually decoupled nested radiofrequency coil hardware capable of transmit and receive on each respective nucleus without power cross talk. MR pulse sequences were also developed for rapid switching between each nucleus. The system is demonstrated with triple-nuclear lung images in a healthy individual following inhalation of a mixture of (3)He and (129)Xe gases.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Spatially and temporally registered images of all three nuclei were obtained with high signal to noise ratio and high spatial resolution in the same breath.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The multinuclear technique is capable of providing registered lung images with mutually complementary functional and structural spatial information.
authors.affiliation: Academic Unit of Radiology, University of Sheffield, C Floor, Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Glossop Road, Sheffield S10 2JF, England. j.m.wild@shef.ac.uk
authors.forename: Jim M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Wild
authors.forename: Helen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Marshall
authors.forename: Xiaoxun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Graham
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Norquay
authors.forename: Steven R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Parnell
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Clemence
authors.forename: Paul D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Griffiths
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Parra-Robles
mesh_terms: D006371:Helium; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D014978:Xenon
chemical_list: D006371:Helium; D014978:Xenon