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Abstract #2512

MRI as a Non-X Ray Based Imaging Alternative to Study Experimental Lung Fibrosis Induced by Bleomycin in Rats

Anna Louise Babin1,2, Catherine Cannet1, Christelle Gerard1, Clive P. Page3, Nicolau Beckmann1

1Global Imaging Group, Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Basel, BS, Switzerland; 2Sackler Institute of Pulmonary Pharmacology, Kings College, London, SE1 1UL, United Kingdom; 3Sackler Institute of Pulmonary Pharmacology, King's College, London, SE1 1UL, United Kingdom


Micro-CT has been shown to be useful in characterizing anatomical changes related to lung fibrosis models in rats. However, radiation doses are an issue both in the clinics and in experimental studies, and repetitive measurements are limited. In the present work, we show that proton MRI can be used to follow longitudinally in spontaneously breathing rats the development of structural changes related to lung fibrosis induced by bleomycin administration, and thus MRI represents a non-X ray based imaging alternative to study experimental fibrosis.