Kiaran P. McGee1, Rolf D. Hubmayr2, Yogesh K. Mariappan1, Zhonghao Bao3, David L. Levin1, Rickey E. Carter4, Richard L. Ehman1
1Radiology, Mayo Clinic & Foundation, Rochester, Mn, United States; 2Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Mayo Clinic & Foundation, Rochester, Mn, United States; 3Information Technology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Mn, United States; 4Health Sciences Research, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Mn, United States
Pulmonary surfactant is lipoprotein complex responsible for decreasing surface tension at the alveolar air-fluid interface, is a known moderator of lung elastic recoil and a major contributor to lung stiffness. While surfactant can be assayed by bronchiolar lavage its spatial distribution and effects on lung stiffness cannot be directly quantified. We present first data demonstrating that magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) can quantify both global and regional changes in lung elastic recoil caused by loss of surfactant in a flooded lung. Regional increases in MRE-based lung stiffness with inflation pressure suggest that MRE can also predict areas of active recruitment.