Validating UTE-based Assessment of Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia at 3T

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is the most common serious complication of prematurity affecting approximately 30,000 infants annually in the USA alone. Decisions regarding treatment course as well as prognostication require an understanding of regional lung changes. However, chest radiographs poorly distinguish the severity of BPD. Advances in ultra-short echo time imaging have made lung imaging feasible at clinically relevant field strengths. We have implemented a UTE-based imaging protocol at our institution and started validation in pre-term infants. Initial results demonstrate that clinically interpretable images can be acquired in an infant with BPD.