Lung MRI with hyperpolarised gases: current & future clinical perspectives

Area of Science:

• Pulmonary Medicine
• Medical Imaging
• Radiology

Background:

• Clinical pulmonary MRI use has been historically limited.
• CT is the gold-standard for structural lung imaging.
• Advancements in MRI techniques enable non-ionizing structural lung imaging.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review hyperpolarized (HP) gas MRI for functional and microstructural lung imaging.
• To highlight HP gas MRI's potential as a clinical tool for lung disease.
• To discuss HP gas MRI applications in various pulmonary disorders.

Main Methods:

• Review of HP gas MRI studies using inhaled Helium-3 (³He) and Xenon-129 (¹²⁹Xe).
• Focus on functional and microstructural imaging of the lung.
• Analysis of evidence from the last two decades.

Main Results:

• HP gas MRI provides functional and microstructural lung imaging.
• It has potential for early detection and understanding lung disease pathophysiology.
• HP gas MRI enables safe and sensitive monitoring of disease progression and therapy response.

Conclusions:

• HP gas MRI is a complementary technique to CT for lung imaging.
• It shows significant potential for clinical management of lung diseases like COPD, asthma, cystic fibrosis, and interstitial lung disease.
• The review includes clinical experience with HP gas MRI in adult and pediatric lung diseases.