Abstract #1500

Detection of Pulmonary Proton Density at 6.5mT

Samuel Patz¹,², Mikayel Dabaghyan,¹³, Matthew Rosen⁴,⁵, Mirko I. Hrovat³

¹Radiology, Brigham & Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, United States; ²Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States; ³Mirtech, Inc., Brockton, MA, United States; ⁴Martinos/MGH Biomedical Imaging Center, Charlestown, MA, United States; ⁵Physics, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, United States

The purpose of this work was to demonstrate the feasibility of detecting changes in pulmonary proton density at very low field strength (6.5mT). A 4-inch diameter RF surface coil was applied to the chest and FIDs detected at different lung volumes. Differences in the acquired spectra easily demonstrated changes in lung density. Eventual application to a portable, ICU compatible planar magnet is envisioned in order to detect changes in lung patency in subjects with acute lung injury.