Abstract #4140

The Nature of Early Airway Obstruction in Cystic Fibrosis Lung Disease using UTE MRI and 129Xe MRI

Robert P Thomen¹, Laura L Walkup², Nara S Higano², David J Roach², Zackary I Cleveland², Andrew Schapiro³, Alan Brody³, John Paul Clandy⁴, and Jason C Woods²

¹University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, United States, ²Center for Pulmonary Imaging Research, Cincinnati Children's Hospital, Cincinnati, OH, United States, ³Radiology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital, Cincinnati, OH, United States, ⁴Pulmonary Medicine, Cincinnati Children's Hospital, Cincinnati, OH, United States

Cystic Fibrosis (CF) lung disease is characterized by identifiable structural abnormalities on CT or UTE MRI, such as mucus plugs and bronchiectasis. Similarly, hyperpolarized ¹²⁹Xe MRI can provide functional information related to regional pulmonary ventilation, with high sensitivity to early obstruction. Here we combined UTE and ¹²⁹Xe MRI to quantify the extent to which specific structural abnormalities contribute to regional ventilation defects. Mucus plugs and bronchiectasis account for the majority of ventilation defects that can be attributed to structural abnormalities. However, structurally-unattributable ventilation defects are more common, implying higher sensitivity than structural imaging to lung dysfunction in milder disease.

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