Pediatric ¹²⁹ Xe Gas-Transfer MRI-Feasibility and Applicability

Area of Science:

• Medical imaging
• Pulmonary medicine
• Pediatric radiology

Background:

• 129Xe gas-transfer MRI measures pulmonary gas exchange by differentiating xenon in lung tissue/plasma (barrier) from that in red blood cells (RBCs).
• This advanced MRI technique has not been previously applied to pediatric populations or conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct an exploratory analysis of 129Xe gas-transfer MRI in a pediatric cohort.
• To assess the feasibility and findings of this technique in children with and without lung disease.

Main Methods:

• A prospective study involving 77 volunteers (ages 5-68, including 16 healthy individuals and four pediatric disease cohorts).
• Utilized 3-T, 3D-radial one-point Dixon FFE UTE MRI sequence.
• Assessed breath-hold compliance and extracted whole-lung gas-transfer metrics, correlating them with age and pulmonary function tests.

Main Results:

• 80% of pediatric subjects successfully completed the 129Xe gas-transfer MRI.
• Gas-transfer parameters differed between healthy children and adults, with significant correlations found between age and ventilation/RBC:barrier ratio.
• Abnormalities were detected in bone marrow transplant, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, cystic fibrosis, and childhood interstitial lung disease cohorts, including impaired ventilation and altered xenon uptake.

Conclusions:

• Pediatric 129Xe gas-transfer MRI is feasible and demonstrates age-dependent gas-transfer metrics.
• The technique effectively identified gas exchange abnormalities in diverse pediatric lung diseases, highlighting its potential for clinical application.