Polarized Xenon Production Multi-liter Accumulation

偏振氙气生产多升积累

• 批准号: 6833370
• 负责人: F. WILLIAM HERSMAN
• 金额: $ 10.3万
• 依托单位: XEMED, LLC
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2004
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2004-09-03 至 2005-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/6833370
• 关键词: bioimaging /biomedical imaging; computer program /software; freezing; helium; inert gas; lung imaging /visualization /scanning; magnetic field; magnetic resonance imaging; optical polarization; technology /technique development; xenon

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Since its first demonstration as an imaging agent in MRI nearly a decade ago, the promise of hyperpolarized xenon has captured the attention of the research community. It can be introduced into a subject non-invasively by breathing, and has a well-understood short-term biological effect. Relative to hyperpolarized helium, its advantages include its natural abundance and low cost. Both hyperpolarized xenon and helium have demonstrated utility in lung imaging, and quantifying lung disease. In contrast to helium, however, hyperpolarized xenon has a high solubility in fluids and tissues and a characteristic chemical shift, revealing its microscopic environment in dissolved-phase imaging. Consequently, the time dependence of its transport and absorption offer prospects for functional imaging of perfusion. Using NIH R21 and R15 funds, the UNH group demonstrated a new type of xenon polarizer that flows the gas mixture at relatively high velocity and low pressure along a direction opposite to the laser beam. This polarizer demonstrated polarization of over 20% for a production rate of over four liters per hour. The figure-of-merit (polarization times production rate) of this polarizer presently exceeds all other polarizer technologies by an order of magnitude. The technology routinely used to accumulate hyperpolarized xenon, freezing in a liquid-nitrogen bath, is not well suited to accumulating multi-liter quantities. We request STTR funding to develop and test a novel, scalable approach to accumulating unlimited quantities of hyperpolarized xenon. This new method of accumulating the hyperpolarized gas will extend the capacity of our world-leading hyperpolarized xenon production apparatus. This development helps to convert this laboratory installation to a practical hospital based device. Hyperpolarized gas has already demonstrated utility in diagnosing and quantifying lung disease. We present technological, physiological, and economic arguments that hyperpolarized xenon can and perhaps will surpass gadolinium as the contrast agent of choice in a broad spectrum of diagnostic imaging protocols.

描述（由申请人提供）： 自从近十年前在MRI中首次展示作为成像剂以来，超极化氙的前景引起了研究界的关注。它可以通过呼吸非侵入性地引入受试者体内，并具有众所周知的短期生物效应。相对于超极化氦，其优势包括其天然丰度和低成本。超极化氙和氦都已被证明可用于肺部成像和肺部疾病的定量。然而，与氦相反，超极化氙在液体和组织中具有高溶解度和特征化学位移，在溶解相成像中揭示了其微观环境。因此，其运输和吸收的时间依赖性为灌注功能成像提供了前景。利用NIH R21和R15基金，UNH小组展示了一种新型的氙偏振器，该偏振器使气体混合物以相对较高的速度和沿着与激光束相反的方向流动。该偏振器表现出超过20%的偏振，生产速率超过每小时4升。该偏振器的品质因数（偏振乘以生产率）目前超过所有其他偏振器技术一个数量级。 通常用来积累超极化氙的技术，在液氮浴中冷冻，不太适合积累数升的数量。我们请求STTR资助开发和测试一种新颖的、可扩展的方法来积累无限量的超极化氙。这种积累超极化气体的新方法将扩大我们世界领先的超极化氙气生产设备的能力。该开发有助于将该实验室装置转换为实际的医院设备。 超极化气体已经证明在诊断和量化肺部疾病中的实用性。我们提出的技术，生理和经济的论点，超极化氙可以，也许会超过钆作为造影剂的选择，在广泛的诊断成像协议。