Abstract #1463

A Pilot Fractional Ventilation Imaging Study in Healthy Subjects, Asymptomatic Smokers and Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Patients

Kiarash Emami¹, Hooman Hamedani¹, Stephen J. Kadlececk¹, Biao Han¹, Yi Xin¹, Masaru Ishii², Milton Rossman³, Rahim Rizi¹

¹Department of Radiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States; ²Otolarynology, Johns Hopkins Medical Center, Baltimore, MD, United States; ³Pulmonary, allergy and Critical Care Division, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States

The ability of Hyperpolarized (HP) gas MRI to directly and noninvasively visualize the distribution of respiratory gas has gradually found more acceptance among researchers as a suitable tool to investigate the severity and distribution of disease, as well as patients response to therapy. We have started investigating the distribution of fractional ventilation in lungs of healthy volunteers in comparison to asymptomatic smokers and those exhibiting obstructive pulmonary disease for the first time.