Abstract #0006

Regional Mapping of Gas Uptake by Red Blood Cells and Tissue in the Human Lung Using Hyperpolarized Xenon-129 MRI

Kun Qing¹, Kai Ruppert², Yun Jiang³, Jaime F. Mata², G Wilson Miller², Yun Michael Shim⁴, Chengbo Wang², Iulian C. Ruset⁵,⁶, F. William Hersman⁵,⁶, Talissa A. Altes², John P. Mugler, III¹,²

¹Biomedical Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, United States; ²Radiology and Medical Imaging, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, United States; ³Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, United States; ⁴Medicine, Pulmonary and Critical Care, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, VA, United States; ⁵Xemed LLC, Durham, NH, United States; ⁶Physics, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, United States

We have demonstrated an imaging method that permits regional mapping of the tissue and RBC fractions of Xe129 dissolved in the human lung, as well as quantitative comparison of tissue- and RBC-based ratios among subjects. The 11-sec breath-hold acquisition was well tolerated by both healthy volunteers and subjects with obstructive lung disease. Our preliminary results, although obtained from a small number of subjects in this exploratory study, suggest marked differences in the spatial distributions of Xe129 dissolved in tissue and RBCs among healthy subjects, smokers (including those with COPD), and asthmatics.