Zhong Jianping, Zhang Huiting, Ruan Weiwei, Xie Junshuai, Li Haidong, Deng He, Han Yeqing, Sun Xianping, Ye Chaohui, Zhou Xin
School of Physics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance in Biological Systems, State Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance and Atomic and Molecular Physics, National Center for Magnetic Resonance in Wuhan, Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China.
NMR Biomed. 2017 Aug;30(8). doi: 10.1002/nbm.3730. Epub 2017 May 16.
During the measurement of hyperpolarized Xe magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) technique provides valuable information for the assessment of lung morphometry at the alveolar level, whereas the chemical shift saturation recovery (CSSR) technique can evaluate the gas exchange function of the lungs. To date, the two techniques have only been performed during separate breaths. However, the request for multiple breaths increases the cost and scanning time, limiting clinical application. Moreover, acquisition during separate breath-holds will increase the measurement error, because of the inconsistent physiological status of the lungs. Here, we present a new method, referred to as diffusion-weighted chemical shift saturation recovery (DWCSSR), in order to perform both DWI and CSSR within a single breath-hold. Compared with sequential single-breath schemes (namely the 'CSSR + DWI' scheme and the 'DWI + CSSR' scheme), the DWCSSR scheme is able to significantly shorten the breath-hold time, as well as to obtain high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) signals in both DWI and CSSR data. This scheme enables comprehensive information on lung morphometry and function to be obtained within a single breath-hold. In vivo experimental results demonstrate that DWCSSR has great potential for the evaluation and diagnosis of pulmonary diseases.
在超极化氙磁共振成像（MRI）测量过程中，扩散加权成像（DWI）技术为评估肺泡水平的肺形态学提供了有价值的信息，而化学位移饱和恢复（CSSR）技术可以评估肺的气体交换功能。迄今为止，这两种技术仅在单独的呼吸过程中进行。然而，多次呼吸的要求增加了成本和扫描时间，限制了临床应用。此外，在单独屏气期间进行采集会增加测量误差，因为肺部的生理状态不一致。在此，我们提出一种新方法，称为扩散加权化学位移饱和恢复（DWCSSR），以便在单次屏气内同时进行DWI和CSSR。与顺序单呼吸方案（即“CSSR + DWI”方案和“DWI + CSSR”方案）相比，DWCSSR方案能够显著缩短屏气时间，并在DWI和CSSR数据中获得高信噪比（SNR）信号。该方案能够在单次屏气内获得关于肺形态学和功能的全面信息。体内实验结果表明，DWCSSR在肺部疾病的评估和诊断方面具有巨大潜力。
