Marcus John Couch1, Brian O'Sullivan2, John Roche1, 3, Ronn Walvick3, 4, Shaokuan Zheng3, Dawn Baker2, Mac Johnson5, Martyn Botfield5, Mitchell Alb
1Thunder Bay Regional Research Institute, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada; 2Department of Pediatrics, University of Massachusetts Medical School, MA, United States; 3Department of Radiology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, MA, United States; 4Center for Biomedical Imaging, New York University Langone Medical Center, NY, United States; 5Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, MA, United States; 6Department of Chemistry, Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada
Hyperpolarized gas MRI provides high-resolution regional information on lung function, offering promise as a valuable outcome measure for cystic fibrosis (CF) and other pulmonary diseases. Using advanced quantitative analyses, we examined repeatability of 3He MR images of five CF patients over several weeks. A pulmonologist read the images, and ventilation volume was determined using an advanced semiautomatic segmentation algorithm. Total ventilation volume was statistically consistent over time. A pixel-by-pixel analysis, however, did show statistical differences. Our results indicate that investigators will need to evaluate the level of sensitivity to use when applying this technology to disease staging and therapy evaluation.
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