Measuring Air Flow Dynamics in the Lungs Using Hyperpolarized 129Xe MRI

The ability to non-invasively measure air flow in the lungs could enable the early detection and assessment of abnormal air flow resulting from various obstructive and restrictive diseases. Here, we present a novel method for both obtaining and analyzing ventilation maps using hyperpolarized 129Xe MRI (HXe). In addition to assessing tidal volume and fractional ventilation, we introduce a novel sigmoid function describing inhalation and exhalation that enables the assessment of how fast air flows in the lungs and apply this method in a preclinical model of thoracic insufficiency syndrome (TIS) as well as three human lung transplant (LTx) recipients.