Lung Tissue Differentiation with Magnetization Transfer Prepared Multi-Echo Ultrashort Echo Time MRI

Kevin M. Johnson¹, Scott K. Nagle¹, ², Orhan Unal¹, ², Sean B. Fain¹, ²

Ultra-short echo time (UTE) imaging holds promise for vastly improved imaging of lung structures but offers little tissue contrast. In this work we investigate the combination of UTE with several conventional echo times and magnetization transfer to separate species based on T2*. Feasibility images were collected in excised swine and human lungs. Ex-vivo images demonstrate successful separation of fluid from short T2* lung tissue and MT effect in all tissue. In human images, short T2* bone and long tissue were separated from long T2 muscle and fat.