Comparison of 3D Stack-of-Spirals and 2D Gradient Echo for Ventilation Mapping using Hyperpolarized 129Xe

Hyperpolarized 129Xe MRI is an emergent tool for the quantification of ventilation defects in the lungs. 129Xe is typically imaged with 2D gradient recalled echo (2D-GRE) which may require lengthy breath-holds (up to 16s) to image the lung. This may be problematic in subjects who are not able to comply with these breath-hold constraints. Non-Cartesian spiral imaging samples k-space more efficiently, reducing the acquisition duration. In this work a 3D stack-of-spirals (3D-SoS) imaging sequence was developed and tested in healthy adults alongside conventional 2D-GRE for hyperpolarized 129Xe ventilation mapping, showing equivalent ventilation defect percent quantification in a ~2 s scan.