Abstract #0196

Hyperpolarized 129Xe MR Imaging of Alveolar-Capillary Gas Transfer in Human Volunteers

Zackary I. Cleveland^1,2, Gary P. Cofer^1,2, Gregory Metz³, Denise Beaver³, John Nouls^1,2, Sivaram Kaushik^1,2, Monica Kraft³, Jan Wolber⁴, Kevin T. Kelly⁵, H Page McAdams², Bastiaan Driehuys^1,2

¹Center for In Vivo Microscopy, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, United States; ²Radiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, United States; ³Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, United States; ⁴GE Healthcare, Amersham, United Kingdom; ⁵Radiation Oncology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, United States

We demonstrate single breath-hold, 3D MRI of hyperpolarized 129Xe dissolved in the pulmonary tissues of humans. Dissolved 129Xe produces acceptable image quality because magnetization is efficiently replenished by diffusion from the airspaces. While ventilation images (3.03.0&15 mm3 resolution) of healthy volunteers were generally homogeneous, dissolved 129Xe images (12.512.515 mm3) displayed higher signal intensities in the gravitationally dependent portions slices. Dissolved 129Xe images of COPD patients were also heterogeneous but displayed different, less directional, patterns. These results suggest that dissolved 129Xe MRI is sensitive to the gravity-dependent distribution of pulmonary perfusion and possibly disease related redistributions of pulmonary capillary blood volume.