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Abstract #4612

MRI Assessment of Distal Airway Heterogeneity for the Early Detection of Airway Disease with Normal Spirometry

Ding Xia1, Elan J. Grossman1, Ke Zhang1, Abram Voorhees2, K I. Berger3, R M. Goldring3, B W. Oppenheimer3, J Reibman3, W N. Rom3, L Rogers3, A Helwig3, L Daugherty4, Jian Xu1, Kelly A. Mcgorty1, Qun Chen1

1Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, NYU School of Medicine, New York, United States; 2Siemens Medical Solutions, Malvern, PA, United States; 3Department of Medicine, NYU School of Medicine, New York, United States; 4Department of Radiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States


Clinical-pathologic correlation between patient illness and pulmonary disease is difficult to determine when airway abnormalities are localized only to distal airways of the lungs. The purpose of this study is to establish quantitative regional measurements of heterogeneity for distal airway dysfunction based on a tissue tracking MRI technique and apply them to early diagnosis of obstructive airway disease. Results show that in subjects with suspected distal airway disease MRI indicators of mean regional airflow are reduced despite presentation of normal spirometry. Thus, assessment of regional lung function by MRI may be a useful tool for early detection of airway disease.