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.

A method for imaging and spectroscopy using γ-rays and magnetic resonance

Nature volume 537, pages 652–655 (2016)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides fine spatial resolution, spectral sensitivity and a rich variety of contrast mechanisms for diagnostic medical applications1,2. Nuclear imaging using γ-ray cameras offers the benefits of using small quantities of radioactive tracers that seek specific targets of interest within the body3. Here we describe an imaging and spectroscopic modality that combines favourable aspects of both approaches. Spatial information is encoded into the spin orientations of tiny amounts of a polarized radioactive tracer using pulses of both radio-frequency electromagnetic radiation and magnetic-field gradients, as in MRI. However, rather than detecting weak radio-frequency signals, imaging information is obtained through the detection of γ-rays. A single γ-ray detector can be used to acquire an image; no γ-ray camera is needed. We demonstrate the feasibility of our technique by producing images and spectra from a glass cell containing only about 4 × 1013 atoms (about 1 millicurie) of the metastable isomer 131mXe that were polarized using the laser technique of spin-exchange optical pumping4. If the cell had instead been filled with water and imaged using conventional MRI, then it would have contained more than 1024 water molecules. The high sensitivity of our modality expands the breadth of applications of magnetic resonance, and could lead to a new class of radioactive tracers.

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

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Get just this article for as long as you need it

$39.95

Learn more

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

Figure 1: Example of polarized nuclear imaging.
Figure 2: Directional emission of 164-keV γ-rays from 131mXe nuclei.
Figure 3: Experimental apparatus and imaging pulse sequence.
Figure 4: Examples of polarized nuclear spectroscopy.

References

  1. Lauterbur, P. C. Image formation by induced local interactions: examples employing nuclear magnetic resonance. Nature 242, 190–191 (1973)

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  2. Brown, R. W., Cheng, Y.-C. N., Haacke, E. M., Thompson, M. R. & Venkatesan, R. Magnetic Resonance Imaging: Physical Principles and Sequence Design (Wiley-Blackwell, 2014)

  3. Cherry, S. R., Sorenson, J. A. & Phelps, M. E. Physics in Nuclear Medicine (Elsevier Saunders, 2012)

  4. Walker, T. G. & Happer, W. Spin-exchange optical pumping of noble-gas nuclei. Rev. Mod. Phys. 69, 629–642 (1997)

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  5. Rabi, I. I., Zacharias, J. R., Millman, S. & Kusch, P. A new method of measuring nuclear magnetic moment. Phys. Rev. 53, 318 (1938)

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  6. Spiers, J. A. Angular distribution of radioactive disintegration products. Nature 161, 807–809 (1948)

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  7. Tolhoek, H. A. & Cox, J. A. M. Angular distribution and polarization of gamma radiation emitted by oriented nuclei. Physica 19, 101–119 (1953)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  8. Jastram, P. S., Sapp, R. C. & Daunt, J. G. Angular correlation of gamma radiations from oriented nuclei. Phys. Rev. 101, 1381–1388 (1956)

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  9. Cappeller, U. & Mazurkewitz, W. Anisotropy and time modulation of γ-radiation emitted by optically aligned 203Hg nuclei. J. Magn. Reson. 10, 15–21 (1973)

    CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  10. Rodriguez, J., Bonn, J., Huber, G., Kluge, H.-J. & Otten, E. H. Determination of spin, magnetic moment and isotopic shift of neutron rich 205Hg by optical pumping. Z. Phys. A 272, 369–374 (1975)

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  11. Bonn, J., Huber, G., Luge, H.-J., Otten, E. W. & Lode, D. Orientation of 199mHg by optical pumping detected by γ-radiation anisotropy. Z. Phys. A 272, 375–380 (1975)

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  12. Calaprice, F. P. et al. Nuclear alignments and magnetic moments of 133Xe, 133mXe, 131mXe by spin exchange with optically pumped 87Rb. Phys. Rev. Lett. 54, 174–177 (1985)

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  13. Ernst, R. R. Nuclear magnetic resonance Fourier transform spectroscopy (Nobel lecture). Angew. Chem. Int. Edn Engl. 31, 805–823 (1992)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Yamazaki, T. Tables of coefficients for angular distribution of gamma rays from aligned nuclei. Nucl. Data Sheets A 3, 1–23 (1967)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Rabi, I. I. Space quantization in a gyrating magnetic field. Phys. Rev. 51, 652–654 (1937)

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  16. Wu, Z., Happer, W. & Daniels, J. M. Coherent nuclear-spin interactions of adsorbed 131Xe gas with surfaces. Phys. Rev. Lett. 59, 1480–1483 (1987)

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

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

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  18. Mugler, J. P. & Altes, T. A. Hyperpolarized 129Xe MRI of the human lung. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 37, 313–331 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Swanson, S. D., Rosen, M. S., Coulter, K. P., Welsh, R. C. & Chupp, T. E. Distribution and dynamics of laser-polarized 129Xe magnetization in vivo. Magn. Reson. Med. 42, 1137–1145 (1999)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Spence, M. M. et al. Functionalized xenon as a biosensor. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 98, 10654–10657 (2001)

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  21. Myers, W. G., Dahl, J. R. & Graham, M. C. Krypton-79m: a new radionuclide for applications in nuclear medicine. J. Nucl. Med. 27, 1436–1441 (1986)

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Myers, W. G., Dahl, J. R. & Graham, M. C. Xenon-127m: a new radionuclide for applications in nuclear medicine. J. Nucl. Med. 31, 489–492 (1990)

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Pavlovskaya, G. E. et al. Hyperpolarized krypton-83 as a contrast agent for magnetic resonance imaging. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 102, 18275–18279 (2005)

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  24. Luhmer, M. & Reisse, J. Quadrupole NMR relaxation of the noble gases dissolved in simple liquids and solutions: a critical review of experimental data in light of computer simulation results. Prog. Nucl. Magn. Reson. Spectrosc. 33, 57–76 (1998)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Jain, A. K. et al. Atlas of nuclear isomers. Nucl. Data Sheets 128, 1–130 (2015)

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  26. Holz, M. New developments in NMR of simple electrolyte solutions. Prog. Nucl. Magn. Reson. Spectrosc. 18, 327–403 (1986)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Saam, B. Pulse-NMR Studies of Spin Relaxation Relevant to Laser-Polarized Noble Gases. Ph.D. thesis, Princeton Univ. (1995)

  28. Duhamela, G. et al. Mesures de la perfusion cérébrale chez le rat à l’aide de la RMN du 129Xe hyperpolarisé: étude de fluides biologiques vecteurs du 129Xe. C. R. Acad. Sci. Chemie 4, 789–794 (2001)

    Google Scholar 

  29. Zheng, Y., Cates, G. D., Tobias, W. A., Mugler, J. P. & Miller, G. W. Very-low-field MRI of laser polarized xenon-129. J. Magn. Reson. 249, 108–117 (2014)

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  30. Wu, Z., Happer, W., Kitano, M. & Daniels, J. Experimental studies of wall interactions of adsorbed spin-polarized 131Xe nuclei. Phys. Rev. A 42, 2774–2784 (1990)

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  31. Zheng, Y. Low Field MRI and the Development of Polarized Nuclear Imaging (PNI) — A New Imaging Modality. Ph.D. thesis, Univ. Virginia (2014)

  32. Roemer, P. B., Edelstein, W. A., Hayes, C. E., Souza, S. P. & Mueller, O. M. The NMR phased array. Magn. Reson. Med. 16, 192–225 (1990)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  33. The NSAC Long Range Plan Working Group. Reaching for the Horizon: The 2015 Long Range Plan for Nuclear Science (US Dept of Energy); available at http://science.energy.gov/~/media/np/nsac/pdf/2015LRP/2015_LRPNS_091815.pdf

  34. Stone, N. J. Table of nuclear magnetic dipole and electric quadrupole moments. At. Data Nucl. Data Tables 90, 75–176 (2005)

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  35. Atkins, T. M. et al. Synthesis of long T1 silicon nanoparticles for hyperpolarized 29Si magnetic resonance imaging. ACS Nano 7, 1609–1617 (2013)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  36. Long, H. W. et al. High-field cross polarization NMR from laser-polarized xenon to a polymer surface. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 115, 8491–8492 (1993)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  37. Navon, G. et al. Enhancement of solution NMR and MRI with laser-polarized xenon. Science 271, 1848–1851 (1996)

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  38. Moreno, K. M. et al. Transfer of hyperpolarization from long T1 storage nuclei to short T1 neighbors using FLOPSY-8. J. Magn. Reson. 213, 187–191 (2011)

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  39. Gatzke, M. et al. Extraordinarily slow nuclear spin relaxation in frozen laser-polarized 129Xe. Phys. Rev. Lett. 70, 690–693 (1993)

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by The Ivy Biomedical Innovation Fund at the University of Virginia, and we are grateful to the Ivy Foundation for its support of this programme. We also thank J. Brookeman for early financial support and R. Bryant (both from the University of Virginia) for conversations, and M. Souza of Princeton University for glass-blowing. G.D.C. acknowledges support from the US Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Nuclear Physics under contract no. DE-FG02-01ER41168.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Yuan Zheng

    Present address: †Present address: Department of Radiology, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA.,

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, 22904, Virginia, USA

    Yuan Zheng, William A. Tobias & Gordon D. Cates

  2. Department of Radiology and Medical Imaging, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, 22908, Virginia, USA

    G. Wilson Miller & Gordon D. Cates

Authors
  1. Yuan Zheng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. G. Wilson Miller
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. William A. Tobias
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Gordon D. Cates
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

The experiments were conceived by G.D.C. and G.W.M. as well as Y.Z. All authors contributed to developing the experimental methods, discussing the results, and contributed to the writing of the manuscript. Most of the data were obtained and analysed by Y.Z.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gordon D. Cates.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Additional information

Reviewer Information

Nature thanks P. Berthault and R. Bowtell for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

Extended data figures and tables

Extended Data Figure 1 Apparent motional narrowing in frequency spectra from Rabi oscillations.

a–c, Spectra obtained from the ‘middle’ cell representing the Fourier amplitudes of Rabi oscillations under three conditions corresponding to maximum RF field homogeneity (a), a somewhat inhomogeneous RF field (b) and an even greater RF field inhomogeneity (c). RF field inhomogeneity was increased by increasing the separation of the RF coil pair, which is normally in a Helmholtz configuration. The measurements in b and c were acquired after lowering the bottom coil by 1 and 2 inches, respectively, without moving the upper coil or the sample. The splitting that is clearly visible in a gets progressively less pronounced in b and c. This result is consistent with the phenomenon of motional narrowing, but not with the hypothesis that the splitting was due to magnetic field inhomogeneities.

Extended Data Figure 2 Example of k-space data from polarized nuclear imaging of the ‘middle’ cell.

a, b, Images showing the amplitudes (in arbitrary units) of the real (a) and the imaginary (b) parts of the k-space data matrix obtained from the longitudinal detector, resulting from one complete set of imaging data. The data shown were used to produce the image shown in Extended Data Fig. 3a.

Extended Data Figure 3 Images of the ‘middle’ cell from individual detectors.

Each image represents two complete averages. a, The image from the longitudinal detector, with the highest analysing power; b, c, the images from the two transverse detectors (see Fig. 3a). The image in b is from the transverse detector pointing at the sample from the left, and c is from the detector pointing at the sample from the right.

PowerPoint slides

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Zheng, Y., Miller, G., Tobias, W. et al. A method for imaging and spectroscopy using γ-rays and magnetic resonance. Nature 537, 652–655 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature19775

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature19775

This article is cited by

Comments

By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.

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