Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Article
  • Published:

Noninvasive assessment of regional ventilation in the human lung using oxygen–enhanced magnetic resonance imaging

Nature Medicine volume 2, pages 1236–1239 (1996)Cite this article

Abstract

The imaging of regional ventilation in the lungs is essential for the evaluation of a variety of pathological conditions, such as emphysema, pneumonia and pulmonary embolism. We propose a novel approach for ventilation scanning, using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and inhaled molecular oxygen as a contrast agent, that directly depicts transfer of oxygen across the alveolus into the pulmonary vasculature. Molecular oxygen is only weakly paramagnetic but produces substantial signal changes in the lungs because of their large surface area. Ventilation defects were shown in a patient with bullous emphysema, and ventilation–perfusion mismatches were shown in two patients with pulmonary embolism.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Milic-Emili, J. Radioactive xenon in the evaluation of regional lung function. Semin. Nucl. Med. 1, 246–262 (1971).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Hayes, M. & Taplin, G.V. Lung imaging with radioaerosols for the assessment of airway disease. Semin. Nucl. Med. 10, 243–251 (1980).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Albert, M.S. et al. Biological magnetic resonance imaging using laser-polarized 129Xe. Nature 370, 199–201 (1994).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Middleton, H. et al. MR imaging with hyperpolarized 3He gas. Magn. Reson. Med. 33, 271–275 (1995).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. MacFall, J.R. et al. Human lung air spaces: Potential for MR imaging with hyperpolarized He-3. Radiology 200, 553–558 (1996).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Jao, J.-C., Su, M.-Y., Lao, X. & Nalcioglu, O. Phys. Med. (in the press).

  7. Chiarotti, G., Cristiani, G. & Biulotto, L. Proton relaxation in pure liquids and in liquids containing paramagnetic gases in solution. Nuovo Cimento 1, 863–873 (1955).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Harris, P. & Heath, D. The Human Pulmonary Circulation (Churchill Livingstone, Edinburgh, 1986).

    Google Scholar 

  9. Bergin, C.J., Glover, G.M. & Pauly, J. Magnetic resonance imaging of lung parenchyma. J. Thorac. Imag. 8, 12–17 (1993).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Alsop, D.C., Hatabu, H., Bonnet, M., Listerud, J. & Gefter, W.B. Multi-slice breathhold imaging of the lung with submillisecond echo times. Magn. Reson. Med. 33, 678–682 (1995).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Glover, G. & Pauly, J. Projection reconstruction techniques for reduction of motion effects in MRI. Magn. Reson. Med. 28, 275–289 (1992).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Bergin, C.J., Pauly, J.M. & Macovski, A. Lung parenchyma: Projection reconstruction MR imaging. Radiology 179, 777–781 (1991).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Mayo, J.R., MacKay, A. & Muller, N.L. MR imaging of the lungs: Value of short TF spin-echo pulse sequences. AJR Am. J. Roentgenol. 159, 951–956 (1992).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Hennig, J. & Friedburg, H. Glinical applications and methodological developments of the RARE technique. Magn. Reson. Imag. 6, 391–395 (1988).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Listerud, J.L., Einstein, S., Cutwater, E. & Kressel, H.Y. First principles of fast spin-echo. Magn. Reson. Quart. 8, 199–244 (1992).

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Goodman, L.R. & Upchik, R.J. Diagnosis of acute pulmonary embolism: Time for a new approach. Radiology 199, 25–27 (1996).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Hatabu, H. et al. Pulmonary perfusion: Dynamic contrast-enhanced MR imaging using ultra-short TE and inversion recovery turboFLASH. Magn. Reson. Med. (in the press).

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, AN-234, Beth Israel Hospital, 330 Brookline Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts, 02215

    Robert R. Edelman, Hiroto Hatabu, Eiji Tadamura, Wei Li & Potthumarthi V. Prasad

  2. Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, 02115, USA

    Robert R. Edelman, Hiroto Hatabu, Eiji Tadamura, Wei Li & Potthumarthi V. Prasad

Authors
  1. Robert R. Edelman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Hiroto Hatabu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Eiji Tadamura
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Wei Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Potthumarthi V. Prasad
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Edelman, R., Hatabu, H., Tadamura, E. et al. Noninvasive assessment of regional ventilation in the human lung using oxygen–enhanced magnetic resonance imaging. Nat Med 2, 1236–1239 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1038/nm1196-1236

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nm1196-1236

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing