High-Resolution Structural and Functional Lung Assessment of Neonates with Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia using 3D UTE FLORET MRI

Motivation: Existing 2D multi-slice MRI-based regional ventilation evaluation of neonatal lung diseases has limited through-plane resolution and may miss heterogeneous functional lung abnormalities across the entire lung. Goal(s): To demonstrate the feasibility of 3D ultra echo time (UTE) free-breathing lung MRI for structural and functional assessment of infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). Approach: Infants with moderate to severe BPD underwent free-breathing UTE MRI, and regional ventilation was assessed using the phase-resolved functional lung (PREFUL) method. Results: 3D UTE PREFUL MRI was feasible and captured both regional ventilation function and quantitative structural abnormalities of the entire lung in infants with BPD. Impact: Existing 2D multi-slice MRI-based regional ventilation has limited in spatial resolution. Whole-lung ventilation assessment is feasible using 3D ultra-short echo time sequences and can be directly compared to structural abnormalities, with demonstrated potential for clinical translation, even in young infants.