Kai Ruppert1, Jaime F. Mata1,
Isabel M. Dregely2, Talissa A. Altes1, G Wilson Miller1,
Stephen Ketel3, Jeff Ketel3, Iulian C. Ruset, 2,3,
F William Hersman2,3, John P. Mugler, III1
1Radiology, University of Virginia,
Charlottesville, VA, United States; 2Physics, University of New
Hampshire, Durham, NH, United States; 3Xemed, LLC, Durham, NH,
United States
Due
to the large chemical shift difference between hyperpolarized Xe129 (HXe129)
dissolved in lung tissue and in the alveolar air spaces it is feasible to
image both compartments simultaneously, appearing side-by-side in the image,
by using a suitable imaging bandwidth. The weighting of the dissolved-phase
contrast can be shifted from exchange-site dominant to blood-pool dominant
through an adjustment of the TR/FA combination of the acquisition. Thereby it
is feasible to monitor and quantify the HXe129 gas transport processes
throughout the pulmonary and cardiovascular system up to the aortic arch.
Keywords