Comparison of CE Perfusion, 3He Ventilation and Oxygen Enhanced 1H MRI for Imaging Lung Ventilation, Perfusion and Oxygen Uptake

Jim M. Wild¹, Martin H. Deppe¹, Juan Parra-Robles¹, Smitha Rajaram¹, David Kiely¹, Charlie Elliot¹, Helen Marshall¹

Contrast enhanced (CE) lung perfusion 1H MRI provides volumetric information on pulmonary perfusion. Hyperpolarised 3He MRI provides regional information on ventilation heterogeneity and is sensitive to alveolar oxygen partial pressure. Oxygen enhanced 1H MRI is also sensitive to ventilation and perfusion if it is assumed that the signal enhancement originates from oxygen dissolved in the pulmonary blood compartment. These three complementary functional lung MRI techniques have yet to be tested side by side in-vivo. In this study the methods are compared in a patient with Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension (CTEPH) whose pulmonary vascular bed shows significant heterogeneity and V/Q mismatch.