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Abstract #1998

129Xe-RBC T1 Dependence on Blood Oxygen Saturation

Graham Norquay1, General Leung1, Jan Wolber2, Gillian M. Tozer1, Jim M. Wild1

1University of Sheffield, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, United Kingdom; 2GE Healthcare, Amersham, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom


In this study, the T1 of hyperpolarised (HP) 129Xe in red blood cells (RBCs) was measured in vitro as a function of blood saturation (sO2) on a 1.5T scanner. 129Xe-RBC T1 was found to increase linearly with increasing sO2, where the mechanism believed to be responsible for the 129Xe-RBC T1 sO2 dependence is interactions of 129Xe nuclei with varying concentrations of paramagnetic deoxyhaemoglobin. The observed linearity between 129Xe-RBC T1 and sO2 has positive preclinical and clinical implications, as it may open up the possibility of using HP 129Xe in vivo as a non-invasive quantitative probe for blood oxygenation in tumours.