Optimizing Hyperpolarized 129Xe MRI of cardiopulmonary oscillations using a Digital Phantom

Cardiogenic red blood cell (RBC) signal oscillations in 129Xe whole-lung dynamic spectroscopy provide a promising biomarker for identifying patients with pulmonary hypertension (PH). However, to detect more complex and heterogeneous diseases, it is necessary to move from simple global metrics to spatially resolved mapping. This has been demonstrated using keyhole reconstruction methods but little work has yet been done to optimize the reconstruction and visualization of these maps. Here, we introduce a digital phantom to investigate the effects of radial views, key radius, and SNR. From these simulations, we deduce a key radius of 9 points is optimal for minimizing radial undersampling-based heterogeneity and maximizing sensitivity.