Imaging of Localized Inert Gas Washout Rates with 3He MRI

Martin Heiner Deppe¹, Xiaojun Peggy Xu¹, Steven R. Parnell¹, Jim M. Wild¹

Inert gas washout is a parameter well-known in lung physiology, but is typically measured only globally at the mouth, hence not containing any information on regional differences. Here we present a method capable of imaging the washout of inert gas from human lungs directly, using hyperpolarized 3He MRI. The resulting data can be analyzed to show the local washout rates for different regions of interest (such as for a traditional core/peel pattern) or on a pixel-by-pixel basis. The method is potentially able to provide important information on diseased lung regions in obstructive lung diseases.