Abstract #0835

Hyperpolarized 3He gas MRI in infant lungs: investigating alveolar-airspace size with restricted gas diffusion

Nara S Higano^1,2, Robert P Thomen², James D Quirk³, Kenneth G Parks², Heidie L Huyck⁴, Andrew D Hahn⁵, Sean B Fain^5,6, Michael L Baker⁷, Gloria S Pryhuber⁴, and Jason C Woods^1,2,8

¹Physics, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, United States, ²Center for Pulmonary Imaging Research, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, United States, ³Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, United States, ⁴Pediatrics, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, United States, ⁵Medical Physics, University of Wisconsin - Madison, Madison, WI, United States, ⁶Radiology, University of Wisconsin - Madison, Madison, WI, United States, ⁷Pathology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, United States, ⁸Radiology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, United States

Acinar development in infant humans has not been extensively studied. Hyperpolarized gas diffusion MRI has been shown to relate directly to alveolar-airspace size in adults, pediatrics, canines, and mice. Using ex-vivo lungs from 7 healthy and 1 diseased infant humans, we investigated the relationship between ³He apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) via mono-exponential decay, alveolar-duct radius via a restricted diffusion model originally developed for mice, and radius via histological measurement. While the mouse model is invalid in the infant diffusion regime, ADC measurements reflect changes in alveolar-airspace size. This method shows promise for longitudinal in-vivo acinar-airway monitoring in neonatal patients.

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