Suryanarayanan Sivaram Kaushik1, John Nouls1,
1Center for In-Vivo Microscopy, Duke
University Medical Center, Durham, NC, United States; 2Pulmonary
and Critical Care Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC,
United States
The
broncho-constriction and inflammation associated with asthma contributes to
increased airway impedance. This impedance is typically measured using global
respiratory mechanics techniques such as FlexiVent. However, the time course
of broncho-constriction can also be directly visualized using hyperpolarized
(HP) 3He MRI. This imaging-based technique provides a time-dependent method
for quantifying central airway impedance and may be useful to assess the
regional contributions to globally measured impedance. Here, we discuss the
method we used in obtaining the upper airway impedance during a Methacholine
(Mch) challenge, in a mouse model of asthma.