Comparison of apparent diffusion coefficient mapping in the lungs of healthy volunteers with 19F C3F8 and hyperpolarized 129Xe gas MRI

In this work we derive in-vivo ¹⁹F C₃F₈ and ¹²⁹Xe apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps from healthy volunteers’ lungs at functional residual capacity (FRC) and total lung capacity (TLC) to evaluate the sensitivity of C₃F₈ ADC to changes in alveolar dimensions. Each volunteer’s C₃F₈ ADC values at FRC was significantly smaller than the respective TLC value (P=0.008), and both FRC and TLC values were smaller than the free diffusion coefficient of C₃F₈. Furthermore, a significant correlation between ¹²⁹Xe and C₃F₈ ADC was observed (r=0.69, P=0.029); demonstrating the clinical potential of in-vivo C₃F₈ ADC mapping.