Alexandre A Khrapitchev1, James R Larkin1, Stavros Melemenidis1, Peter E Thelwall2, and Nicola R Sibson1
1Department of Oncology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom, 2Newcastle Magnetic Resonance Centre, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
The imaging of lungs with MRI is difficult owing to low proton
density. Imaging with hyperpolarized noble gases has overcome some of these
limitations but at great expense and effort. We have investigated damage caused
by radiation of mouse lungs using 19F MRI of perfluorohexane – a
cheap biocompatible liquid at room temperature. Using lungs filled with
perfluorohexane, we were able to obtain high resolution scans with comparable
SNRs to hyperpolarized xenon imaging and high resolution. These bright and
stable lung images provide a very sensitive tool to monitor the lung damage
development.
