Reliable MR imaging of lung
tissue could be an important element of diagnosing lung-related diseases. The
very short T2 components of lung tissue, one of the main problems of lung
imaging, can be visualized using ultrashort echo times (UTE). Furthermore, UTE
sequences allow the determination of conductivity of the imaged tissue. This
study shows the principle feasibility of UTE to image lung conductivity,
examining healthy volunteers. Obtained conductivity was lower for inspiration
breath hold than expiration breath hold, which is the expected behaviour due to
corresponding fraction of air (with nearly zero conductivity) inside lungs during
inspiration and expiration.
