Abstract #1457

Hyperpolarized 129Xe Lung Morphometry Method for Estimation of Xenon Concentration Gradients in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Alexei V. Ouriadov¹, Adam Farag¹, Miranda Kirby¹,², David G. McCormack³, Grace Parraga¹,², Giles E. Santyr¹,²

¹Robarts Research Institute, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada; ²Department of Medical Biophysics, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada; ³Department of Medicine, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada

The hyperpolarized ¹²⁹Xe method proposed by Sukstanskii was recently demonstrated for lung morphometry of one healthy volunteer and one cystic fibrosis patient. Accuracy of morphometric parameters depends on a number of factors including the free diffusion coefficient of xenon (D₀). Recently, it was hypothesized that the xenon dilution effect explained the observed superior-inferior ADC gradient. Thus, if the D₀ distribution provides direct information about the gas concentration gradients in the human lung, it may be useful information for lung disease detection. We propose the method of estimation of the D₀ based on the lung morphometry approach.