Imaging functional and microstructural changes in the lungs of children born prematurely

Preterm-births account for 10% of worldwide births, and those born at 32 weeks gestation or less have deterioration in their lung function in childhood and beyond. Here we assessed pulmonary micro-structural and functional changes using hyperpolarized ¹²⁹Xe gas ventilation and diffusion-weighted MRI in three groups of children: (1) those born preterm with FEV₁<=85%, (2) born preterm with normal lung function and (3) those born full term with normal lung function. Significant differences in ventilation heterogeneity and the kurtosis of the distribution of mean alveolar dimension were observed between groups.