Longitudinal & Non-Invasive Assessment of Emphysema Evolution in a Murine Model using Proton MRI

Magdalena Zurek¹, Laurent Boyer², Philippe Caramelle², Jorge Boczkowski², Yannick Crmillieux¹

Tissue density losses and microstructural changes of the lung parenchyma present in emphysema disease can affect both, the MR image intensity and T2* values. Using an ultra-short echo-time (UTE) sequence, signal intensity and T2* changes were track in emphysema disease progression along an 8-weeks longitudinal study in elastase-challenged mice. The MR findings were confirmed by histology. The MR results are in good agreement with published CT observations and with predictions from a physical model. This technique is readily suitable for routine drug testing in experimental MR lung research of emphysema and can be transferred to human studies.