Hyperpolarized xenon-129 MRI has previously been used to assess pulmonary gas exchange between the alveolar volume and lung tissue. In this work, we quantified changes in the downstream xenon dissolved-phase signal in the left ventricle in response to a regional saturation of the pulmonary gas-phase signal. This approach permitted us to extract the relative gas-exchange efficiency of the lung volume unaffected by the GP signal saturation, demonstrating increased gas exchange efficiency in the posterior regions of the lung in supine rabbits. The proposed technique might be especially valuable in lung transplantation, during pharmaceutical interventions, or for lung-volume reduction surgeries.
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