Abstract #0545

Pulmonary Blood Volume Mapping using a Modified T1 Weighted, Steady State MRI Technique in a Rodent Model of Hypoxic Pulmonary Vasoconstriction

Ronn P. Walvick^1,2, Austin L. Reno², Alexei A. Bogdanov², Mitchell S. Albert²

¹Radiology, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY, USA; ²Radiology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA

The purpose of this study was to develop a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique for measurement of pulmonary blood volume (PBV). The proposed imaging technique consisted of acquiring images of lung parenchyma with a cardiac and respiratory gated inversion recovery, T1 weighted spin-echo sequence before and after the injection of a long circulating, intravascular contrast agent. This technique was used to the measure PBV in a rodent model of pulmonary hypoxic vasoconstriction. Results revealed a significant decrease in the PBV in animals breathing gas with low oxygen content. The measured PBV increased with increasing inversion time due to water exchange.