John Nouls1,2,
1Department of Radiology,
Duke University, Durham, NC, United States; 2Center for In Vivo Microscopy, Duke University,
Durham, NC, United States; 3Department of Pulmonary and Critical
Care Medicine, Duke University
Ambient ozone (O3) is a major environmental air pollutant, which significantly impacts public health and exacerbates disease in subjects with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. While much is known about the deleterious effect of O3 on global lung function, much less is understood about its effects regionally. To this end hyperpolarized gas MRI has been proposed as an ideal means to address this gap. Here, we demonstrate high-resolution 3D 3He and 1H MRI in ozone-exposed C57BL/6 mice reveals striking regional ventilation impairment and bronchial narrowing.