Here we provide a full report on the construction, components, and capabilities of our consortium's "open-source" large-scale (~1L/h) (129)Xe hyperpolarizer for clinical, pre-clinical, and materials NMR/MRI (Nikolaou et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 110, 14150 (2013)). The 'hyperpolarizer' is automated and built mostly of off-the-shelf components; moreover, it is designed to be cost-effective and installed in both research laboratories and clinical settings with materials costing less than $125,000.
The exquisite NMR spectral sensitivity and negligible reactivity of hyperpolarized xenon-129 (HP(129)Xe) make it attractive for a number of magnetic resonance applications; moreover, HP(129)Xe embodies an alternative to rare and nonrenewable (3)He. However, the ability to reliably and inexpensively produce large quantities of HP(129)Xe with sufficiently high (129)Xe nuclear spin polarization (P(Xe)) remains a significant challenge--particularly at high Xe densities.
RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: The authors present their initial experience using a 3-T whole-body scanner equipped with a 128-channel coil applied to lung motion assessment. Recent improvements in fast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology have enabled several trials of free-breathing three-dimensional (3D) imaging of the lung. A large number of image frames necessarily increases the difficulty of image analysis and therefore warrants automatic image processing. However, the intensity homogeneities of images of prior dynamic 3D lung MRI studies have been insufficient to use such methods.
The purpose of this research was to reassess the effects of topical pilocarpine on the integrity of the blood-aqueous barrier, using high resolution, magnetic resonance imaging, and the standard intravenous contrast agent gadolinium dimeglumine. It has long been known that topical pilocarpine gives rise to an increase in protein levels in the anterior chamber of the eye. This protein scatters light and is referred to clinically as 'flare'. Prior studies concluded that pilocarpine-induced flare resulted from disruption of the blood-aqueous barrier.
Assuming that the SSFP magnetization response maintains a steady state which is periodic in the presence of diffusion, we can solve for the diffusion effect in such sequences. Formulating a Fourier series decomposition solution to the Bloch-Torrey equation and imposing the steady-state condition, analytical expressions describing the signal decay due to diffusion are developed. Magnetization responses for any system and sequence parameters can then be obtained. Also, sensitivity to b factor changes is quite different than standard diffusion measurement techniques.
A fast imaging technique, missing pulse steady-state free precession (MP-SSFP), is described. MP-SSFP is one of a class of steady-state free precession techniques in which every nth RF pulse is missing. MP-SSFP has been implemented for the case where every third RF pulse is omitted: [-theta 1-r-theta 2-r-echo-r-]. A RF-refocused echo forms at the time of the missing pulse. This echo is less sensitive to field inhomogeneities than the gradient-recalled echoes used in most fast imaging methods.
The image intensity in magnetic resonance magnitude images in the presence of noise is shown to be governed by a Rician distribution. Low signal intensities (SNR
Recent development of MR techniques has overcome many problems, such as susceptibility artifacts or motion artifact, allowing both static and dynamic MR lung imaging and providing quantitative information of pulmonary function, including perfusion, ventilation, and respiratory motion. Dynamic contrast-enhanced MR perfusion imaging is suitable for the evaluation of angiogenesis of pulmonary solitary nodules. (129)Xe MR imaging is potentially a robust technique for the evaluation of various pulmonary function and may replace (3)He.
In this paper the authors quantitatively evaluate the combined effect of both flow and diffusion in steady-state free precession (SSFP) imaging. A partition analysis (PA) is used to derive a fourth order approximation (in E2) of the signal in an echo SSFP sequence. The authors also introduce a novel very fast simulation technique, based on a circular convolution, which accurately accounts for both flow and diffusion. A 2D SSFP-echo sequence was implemented to obtain experimental data from a phantom containing three different solutions.
Missing pulse steady state free precession (MP-SSFP), an extension of steady state free precession (SSFP), was evaluated for its ability to measure slow fluid flows. In experiments using flow phantoms, the MP-SSFP signal was sensitive to fluid velocities in the millimeters per second range. Isolated perfused rabbit kidneys were then used to determine if MP-SSFP could measure perfusion in a biological tissue. The signal intensities in the different anatomical regions of the kidney were observed to be related to the total flow to the organ.
