Direct Measurement of Lung Motion Using Hyperpolarized Helium-3 MR Tagging

Abstract

To measure lung motion between end-inhalation and end-exhalation using a hyperpolarized helium-3 (HP (3)He) magnetic resonance (MR) tagging technique. Three healthy volunteers underwent MR tagging studies after inhalation of 1 L HP (3)He gas diluted with nitrogen. Multiple-slice two-dimensional and volumetric three-dimensional MR tagged images of the lungs were obtained at end-inhalation and end-exhalation, and displacement vector maps were computed. The grids of tag lines in the HP (3)He MR images were well defined at end-inhalation and remained evident at end-exhalation. Displacement vector maps clearly demonstrated the regional lung motion and deformation that occurred during exhalation. Discontinuity and differences in motion pattern between two adjacent lung lobes were readily resolved. Hyperpolarized helium-3 MR tagging technique can be used for direct in vivo measurement of respiratory lung motion on a regional basis. This technique may lend new insights into the regional pulmonary biomechanics and thus provide valuable information for the deformable registration of lung.