Diffusional kurtosis imaging in the lung using hyperpolarized 3He.

Full Abstract

Diseases of the small airspaces represent an increasingly important health problem. Asthma is primarily a disease of airway dysfunction, while chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is associated with abnormalities in both the small airways and the alveoli. Conventional diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of hyperpolarized noble gases, because of the short T(2)* of the gas, is only capable of monitoring diffusion over short times and hence only short distances. Diffusion imaging is therefore only sensitive to changes in small structures of the lung (primarily the alveoli), and will not adequately interrogate diffusion along the longitudinal axes of bronchi and bronchioles. In this communication we present a new method, termed diffusional kurtosis imaging (DKI), that is particularly sensitive to diffusion over longer distances. DKI may therefore be more sensitive to abnormalities in the bronchioles and bronchi than conventional diffusion imaging. Preliminary DKI measurements on healthy human subjects and one patient with symptoms suggestive of small airway disease are presented. Although the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) in the patient was similar to that in the normal controls, diffusional kurtosis was markedly reduced. This suggests that DKI measurements may be useful for assessing diseases of the small airways.

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Author information

Author/s: Trampel, Robert (R); Jensen, Jens H (JH); Lee, Ray F (RF); Kamenetskiy, Igor (I); McGuinness, Georgeann (G); Johnson, Glyn (G);

Affiliation: Department of Radiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York 10016-3240, USA.

Grants: M01 RR00096 (Agency:NCRR NIH HHS) ; R21 EB004380 (Agency:NIBIB NIH HHS)

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: Magnetic resonance in medicine : official journal of the Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine / Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (Magn Reson Med), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2006-Oct; vol 56 (issue 4) : pp 733-7

Dates: Created 2006/09/27; Completed 2007/01/19; Revised 2007/12/03;

PMID: 16958076, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Artifacts
Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging - methods
Helium - diagnostic use
Humans
Isotopes

Isotopes
Lung - anatomy & histology; physiology
Lung Diseases, Obstructive - physiopathology
Pulmonary Ventilation
Sensitivity and Specificity

Associated Chemicals: Isotopes (0) ; Helium (7440-59-7)

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