Synchronised Acquisition of Hyperpolarised 3He and 1H MR Images of the Lungs During the Same Breath-Hold

Jim M. Wild¹, Salma Ajraoui¹, Martin H. Deppe¹, Steven R. Parnell¹, Helen Marshall¹, James Swinscoe², Matthew Hatton², Juan Parra-Robles¹, Rob H. Ireland¹

Combined 1H MRI of lung anatomy with hyperpolarised gas MRI of lung function has previously required acquisition of separate breath-hold exams, with separate MRI pulse sequences and dedicated RF coils, resulting in images that were not spatially registered or temporally synchronised. Here 1H anatomical and 3He ventilation MRI from human lungs were acquired in the same breath-hold using decoupled RF hardware and optimised dual acquisition MRI pulse sequences. The resulting 3He and 1H images acquired in the same breath (from volunteers and patients with lung disease), showed superior registration to those acquired in repeat breath-hold manoeuvres.