Abstract
The imaging of regional ventilation in the lungs is essential for the evaluation of a variety of pathological conditions, such as emphysema, pneumonia and pulmonary embolism. We propose a novel approach for ventilation scanning, using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and inhaled molecular oxygen as a contrast agent, that directly depicts transfer of oxygen across the alveolus into the pulmonary vasculature. Molecular oxygen is only weakly paramagnetic but produces substantial signal changes in the lungs because of their large surface area. Ventilation defects were shown in a patient with bullous emphysema, and ventilation–perfusion mismatches were shown in two patients with pulmonary embolism.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$209.00 per year
only $17.42 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Milic-Emili, J. Radioactive xenon in the evaluation of regional lung function. Semin. Nucl. Med. 1, 246–262 (1971).
Hayes, M. & Taplin, G.V. Lung imaging with radioaerosols for the assessment of airway disease. Semin. Nucl. Med. 10, 243–251 (1980).
Albert, M.S. et al. Biological magnetic resonance imaging using laser-polarized 129Xe. Nature 370, 199–201 (1994).
Middleton, H. et al. MR imaging with hyperpolarized 3He gas. Magn. Reson. Med. 33, 271–275 (1995).
MacFall, J.R. et al. Human lung air spaces: Potential for MR imaging with hyperpolarized He-3. Radiology 200, 553–558 (1996).
Jao, J.-C., Su, M.-Y., Lao, X. & Nalcioglu, O. Phys. Med. (in the press).
Chiarotti, G., Cristiani, G. & Biulotto, L. Proton relaxation in pure liquids and in liquids containing paramagnetic gases in solution. Nuovo Cimento 1, 863–873 (1955).
Harris, P. & Heath, D. The Human Pulmonary Circulation (Churchill Livingstone, Edinburgh, 1986).
Bergin, C.J., Glover, G.M. & Pauly, J. Magnetic resonance imaging of lung parenchyma. J. Thorac. Imag. 8, 12–17 (1993).
Alsop, D.C., Hatabu, H., Bonnet, M., Listerud, J. & Gefter, W.B. Multi-slice breathhold imaging of the lung with submillisecond echo times. Magn. Reson. Med. 33, 678–682 (1995).
Glover, G. & Pauly, J. Projection reconstruction techniques for reduction of motion effects in MRI. Magn. Reson. Med. 28, 275–289 (1992).
Bergin, C.J., Pauly, J.M. & Macovski, A. Lung parenchyma: Projection reconstruction MR imaging. Radiology 179, 777–781 (1991).
Mayo, J.R., MacKay, A. & Muller, N.L. MR imaging of the lungs: Value of short TF spin-echo pulse sequences. AJR Am. J. Roentgenol. 159, 951–956 (1992).
Hennig, J. & Friedburg, H. Glinical applications and methodological developments of the RARE technique. Magn. Reson. Imag. 6, 391–395 (1988).
Listerud, J.L., Einstein, S., Cutwater, E. & Kressel, H.Y. First principles of fast spin-echo. Magn. Reson. Quart. 8, 199–244 (1992).
Goodman, L.R. & Upchik, R.J. Diagnosis of acute pulmonary embolism: Time for a new approach. Radiology 199, 25–27 (1996).
Hatabu, H. et al. Pulmonary perfusion: Dynamic contrast-enhanced MR imaging using ultra-short TE and inversion recovery turboFLASH. Magn. Reson. Med. (in the press).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Edelman, R., Hatabu, H., Tadamura, E. et al. Noninvasive assessment of regional ventilation in the human lung using oxygen–enhanced magnetic resonance imaging. Nat Med 2, 1236–1239 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1038/nm1196-1236
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nm1196-1236