Lungs Pathology Detection Using Hyperpolarized 129Xe

描述（由申请人提供）： 提出了新型超极化129核磁共振（NMR）技术的发展，以非侵入性地评估整体和局部肺功能以及体内生理学，而不使用放射性物质或电离辐射。据推测，氙吸收和交换动力学可以可靠地检测和利用，以提供肺部信息，这是无法获得任何其他诊断方式。在优化的形式，这些新技术预计将成为一个强大的除了武器库的肺免疫学家，因为它们可以允许早期检测肺实质的病理变化，以及疾病进展的研究和治疗监测。一旦这些技术被开发出来，它们将在兔肺气肿疾病模型上进行测试，以评估它们是否在COPD的早期诊断方面比现有方法具有实质性优势。尽管建议的应用是肺气肿肺的检测，但所研究的方法将有助于表征肺功能并增加一般肺病理学的灵敏度。将分三个阶段实现这些目标。首先，使用一系列以共振为中心的频率选择性RF脉冲，用于溶解在肺实质中的129 Ω，将确定兔和狗中的摄取和交换参数。所获得的参数值用于优化氙偏振转移对比磁共振成像序列，其可以被敏化以映射表面积与体积比或肺组织密度。在第二步中，该方法将进一步完善，以区分肺泡和组织之间的气体交换与肺泡和红细胞之间的交换。最后，将通过检测和监测兔模型中肺气肿的发展来评估优化的NMR脉冲序列技术的性能。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The development of novel hyperpolarized 129Xe nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques is proposed to non-invasively assess global and regional lung function as well as physiology in-vivo, without the use of radioactive substances or ionizing radiation. It is hypothesized that xenon uptake and exchange dynamics can be reliably detected and exploited to provide pulmonological information that is unobtainable with any other diagnostic modality. In an optimized form these new techniques are expected to become a powerful addition to the arsenal of pulmunologists since they may permit the early detection of pathological changes in the lung parenchyma as well as the study of disease progression and the monitoring of treatment. Once the technologies have been developed they will be tested on an emphysema disease model in rabbits to evaluate whether they provide substantial advantages in the early diagnosis of COPD over existing methods. Although a suggested application is the detection of emphysematous lung the investigated methods will help characterize lung function and increase the sensitivity for lung pathology in general. These goals will be approached in three stages. First, using a series of frequency-selective RF pulses centered at the resonance for 129Xe dissolved in the lung parenchyma the uptake and exchange parameters in rabbits and dogs will be determined. The obtained parameter values are used to optimize xenon-polarization-transfer-contrast magnetic resonance imaging sequences, which can be sensitized to map the surface-to-volume ratio or the lung tissue density. In a second step, the methods will be further refined to distinguish gas exchange between alveoli and tissue from exchange between alveoli and red blood cells. Finally, the performance of the optimized NMR pulse sequence techniques will be evaluated by detecting and monitoring the development of emphysema in a rabbit model.