Ding Xia1, Elan J. Grossman1, Ke
Zhang1, Abram Voorhees2, K I. Berger3, R M.
Goldring3, B W. Oppenheimer3, J Reibman3, W
N. Rom3, L Rogers3, A Helwig3, L Daugherty4,
Jian Xu1, Kelly A. Mcgorty1, Qun Chen1
1Center for Biomedical Imaging,
Department of Radiology, NYU School of Medicine, New York, United States; 2Siemens
Medical Solutions, Malvern, PA, United States; 3Department of
Medicine, NYU School of Medicine, New York, United States; 4Department
of Radiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
Clinical-pathologic
correlation between patient illness and pulmonary disease is difficult to
determine when airway abnormalities are localized only to distal airways of
the lungs. The purpose of this study is to establish quantitative regional
measurements of heterogeneity for distal airway dysfunction based on a tissue
tracking MRI technique and apply them to early diagnosis of obstructive
airway disease. Results show that in subjects with suspected distal airway
disease MRI indicators of mean regional airflow are reduced despite
presentation of normal spirometry. Thus, assessment of regional lung function
by MRI may be a useful tool for early detection of airway disease.
Keywords