Abstract #1471

Evaluation of Airway Morphology in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease of Hyperpolarized Helium-3 Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Computed Tomography

Damien Pike¹,², Miranda Kirby¹,², Andrew Wheatley¹, David G. McCormack³, Grace Parraga¹,²

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

Our objective was to register a three-dimensional (3D) computed tomography (CT)-derived airway tree with hyperpolarized helium-3 (3He) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to gain a better understanding of the etiology of MRI ventilation defects. CT airway tree models and 3He MRI models were constructed and registered using volumetric fiducial registration. Regions of ventilation defects and the airways leading into these regions can be visualized in 3D using the CT-MRI registered model. Future work will be focused on tracing specific airway paths into ventilation defect regions. This will allow us to evaluate the alterations in airway morphology that occur in lung disease.