Thoracic insufficiency syndrome (TIS) progresses to the development of restrictive lung disease and is commonly treated through surgical intervention. In this work, we used a rib-tether rabbit model to investigate the sensitivity of dynamic 1D simultaneous dissolved- and gas-phase hyperpolarized xenon-129 MRI imaging to pulmonary abnormalities secondary to TIS. We found asymmetric lung ventilation patterns and increases in alveolar septal wall thickness in both lungs of a rib-tethered rabbit compared to an age-matched control animal. These findings could help identify the optimal timepoint at which to conduct chest expansion surgery so as to maximize the resulting improvements in lung maturation.
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