Phase-Resolved Functional Lung MRI for Pulmonary Ventilation and Perfusion (V/Q) Assessment

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Pulmonary Medicine
• Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Background:

• Fourier decomposition is a contrast-agent-free 1H MRI method for lung assessment.
• Existing methods require contrast agents or specialized hardware.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and validate phase-resolved functional lung imaging (PREFUL) for quantitative ventilation (V) and perfusion (Q) assessment.
• To demonstrate PREFUL's feasibility across different field strengths and patient populations.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a standard 2D spoiled gradient-echo sequence with ~300 ms temporal resolution.
• Developed an image-sorting algorithm for phase-resolved analysis of voxel time series.
• Validated PREFUL against 129Xe/19F gas imaging, SPECT, and DCE-MRI.

Main Results:

• PREFUL enables high temporal resolution imaging for regional flow volume loops and pulse wave propagation.
• Demonstrated good regional agreement with established V/Q imaging techniques.
• PREFUL is feasible across various field strengths (0.55T-3T) and age groups, including newborns.

Conclusions:

• PREFUL MRI is a validated, contrast-agent-free technique for quantitative V/Q imaging.
• PREFUL aids in regional pulmonary disease detection, quantification, and treatment monitoring.
• PREFUL shows potential for added value in clinical routine and predicting transplant outcomes.