Abstract #0630

Hyperpolarized Helium-3 & Xenon-129 Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Elderly Never-Smokers & Ex-Smokers with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Miranda Kirby¹,², Andrew Wheatley¹, Adam Farag¹, Alexei Ouriadov¹, Giles E. Santyr¹, David G. McCormack³, Grace Parraga¹,²

¹Imaging Research Laboratories, Robarts Research Institute, London, ON, Canada; ²Medical Biophysics, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada; ³Division of Respirology, Department of Medicine, The University of Western Ontario

The objective of this study was to compare hyperpolarized helium-3 (³He) and hyperpolarized xenon-129 (¹²⁹Xe) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) ex-smokers and age-matched never-smokers. ³He and ¹²⁹Xe images were segmented using image segmentation/registration software. In 10 COPD subjects and 8 never-smokers, ¹²⁹Xe ventilation defect percent (VDP) was statistically significantly higher than ³He VDP (p<.0001). This finding suggests that ¹²⁹Xe may be more sensitive to the structural alternations that occur in the distal terminal and respiratory bronchioles and is a feasible alternative to ³He MRI with strong translational potential in COPD studies.