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Updated: Mar 19, 2026
Quantitative Mapping of Specific Ventilation in the Human Lung using Proton Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Oxygen as a Contrast Agent
Published on: June 5, 2019
Regional Lung Ventilation Analysis Using Temporally Resolved Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Christoph Kolb1, Andreas Wetscherek, Maria Teodora Buzan
1From the *Junior Group Medical Image Computing and †Division of Medical Physics in Radiology, DKFZ, Heidelberg, Germany; ‡Joint Department of Physics at the Institute of Cancer Research and the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom; §Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology with Nuclear Medicine, Thoraxklinik at Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany; ∥Department of Pneumology, luliu Hatieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca, Romania; ¶Department of Diagnostic and of Interventional Radiology Heidelberg University, Heidelberg; #Department of Computational Neuroscience, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg; **Department of Pneumology and Respiratory Critical Care Medicine, Thoraxklinik at Heidelberg University Hospital; ††Translational Lung Research Center Heidelberg (TLRC-H), member of the German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Heidelberg; ‡‡Institute of Clinical Radiology, Munich; §§Comprehensive Pneumology Center Munich (CPC-M), member of the German Center for Lung Research (DZL); and ∥∥Division of Radiology, DKFZ, Heidelberg, Germany.
This study introduces a novel computer-aided method for analyzing regional lung ventilation using 4D MRI. The technique enables accurate assessment of lung function and disease in patients, improving diagnostic capabilities.
Area of Science:
- Medical Imaging
- Pulmonary Medicine
- Computational Biology
Background:
- Assessing regional lung ventilation is crucial for diagnosing and monitoring lung diseases.
- Current methods for ventilation analysis often lack detailed regional information or rely on invasive procedures.
- Temporally resolved magnetic resonance imaging (4D MRI) offers a non-invasive approach to visualize lung dynamics.
Observation:
- A novel computer-aided method was developed for regional ventilation analysis using 4D MRI.
- The method employs a shape model-based segmentation and registration workflow to create an atlas-derived reference system.
- This system allows for quantification of regional tissue motion and comparison of multimodal imaging data.
Findings:
- Patient-specific 4D MR regional ventilation maps demonstrated good correlation with diagnostic CT images in conspicuous regions.
- Comparisons with 4D CT-derived ventilation maps supported the plausibility of the 4D MR ventilation maps.
- Dynamic MRI-based flow-volume loops and spirograms effectively visualized free-breathing behavior.
Implications:
- The proposed methods facilitate 4D MR-based regional analysis of tissue dynamics and ventilation during spontaneous breathing.
- The atlas-based reference coordinate system automates the annotation and comparison of multimodal lung image data.
- This approach holds promise for improved diagnosis and management of lung diseases through advanced imaging analysis.
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