John Nouls1,2, Zackary I. Cleveland1,2,
Matthew S. Freeman3, Harald E. Moeller4, Laurence W.
Hedlund1,2, Bastiaan Driehuys1,2
1Department of Radiology,
Duke University, Durham, NC, United States; 2Center for In Vivo Microscopy, Duke University,
Durham, NC, United States; 3Medical Physics, Duke University; 4Max
Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
We demonstrate that acquiring isotropic, 3D images of
the 129<\sup>Xe distribution in the rat brain is feasible. The
images are obtained by simple inhalation delivery within 5 min. However, the intensity
in these images display significant heterogeneity. The presence of this
heterogeneity, which was not reported in earlier 2D imaging studies, suggests
that the distribution of <sup>129<\sup>Xe in the brain is
sensitive to a variety of physiologically and anatomically important factors
including perfusion, tissue type, and tissue chemistry.