Automated CT-based measurements of radial and longitudinal expansion of airways due to breathing-related lung volume change.

Background: Respiratory function is impaired in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Automation of multi-volume CT-based measurements of different components of breathing-related airway deformations will help understand multi-pathway impairments in respiratory mechanics in COPD.

Purpose: To develop and evaluate multi-volume chest CT-based automated measurements of breathing-related radial and longitudinal expansion of individual airways between inspiratory and expiratory lung volumes.

Multi-Modal Investigation of Metabolism in Murine Breast Cancer Cell Lines Using Fluorescence Lifetime Microscopy and Hyperpolarized 13C-Pyruvate Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy.

: Despite the role of metabolism in breast cancer metastasis, we still cannot predict which breast tumors will progress to distal metastatic lesions or remain dormant. This work uses metabolic imaging to study breast cancer cell lines (4T1, 4T07, and 67NR) with differing metastatic potential in a 3D collagen gel bioreactor system. : Within the bioreactor, hyperpolarized magnetic resonance spectroscopy (HP-MRS) is used to image lactate/pyruvate ratios, while fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) of endogenous metabolites measures metabolism at the cellular scale.

Same-Day Repeatability and 28-Day Reproducibility of Xenon MRI Ventilation in Children With Cystic Fibrosis in a Multi-Site Trial.

Background: MRI with xenon-129 gas (Xe MRI) can assess airflow obstruction and heterogeneity in lung diseases. Specifically, Xe MRI may represent a sensitive modality for future therapeutic trials of cystic fibrosis (CF) therapies. The reproducibility of Xe MRI has not yet been assessed in the context of a multi-site study.

Feasibility and optimization ofF MRI on a clinical 3T with a large field-of-view torso coil.

The objective of this work is to: (1) demonstrate fluorine-19 (F) MRI on a 3T clinical system with a large field of view (FOV) multi-channel torso coil (2) demonstrate an example parameter selection optimization for aF agent to maximize the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR)-efficiency for spoiled gradient echo (SPGR), balanced steady-state free precession (bSSFP), and phase-cycled bSSFP (bSSFP-C), and (3) validate detection feasibility intissues.Measurements were conducted on a 3.0T Discovery MR750w MRI (GE Healthcare, USA) with an 8-channelH/F torso coil (MRI Tools, Germany).

Comparison of weighting algorithms to mitigate respiratory motion in free-breathing neonatal pulmonary radial UTE-MRI.

. Thoracoabdominal MRI is limited by respiratory motion, especially in populations who cannot perform breath-holds. One approach for reducing motion blurring in radially-acquired MRI is respiratory gating.

A stable, highly concentrated fluorous nanoemulsion formulation for in vivo cancer imaging via F-MRI.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a routine diagnostic modality in oncology that produces excellent imaging resolution and tumor contrast without the use of ionizing radiation. However, improved contrast agents are still needed to further increase detection sensitivity and avoid toxicity/allergic reactions associated with paramagnetic metal contrast agents, which may be seen in a small percentage of the human population. Fluorine-19 (F)-MRI is at the forefront of the developing MRI methodologies due to near-zero background signal, high natural abundance of 100%, and unambiguous signal specificity.

A new approach to computed tomography measurement of airway remodelling in paediatric asthma.

https://bit.ly/3Rh9pnW.

A Novel Air Trapping Segment Score Identifies Opposing Effects of Obesity and Eosinophilia on Air Trapping in Asthma.

Density thresholds in computed tomography (CT) lung scans quantify air trapping (AT) at the whole-lung level but are not informative for AT in specific bronchopulmonary segments. To apply a segment-based measure of AT in asthma to investigate the clinical determinants of AT in asthma. In each of 19 bronchopulmonary segments in CT lung scans from 199 patients with asthma, AT was categorized as present if lung attenuation was less than -856 Hounsfield units at expiration in ⩾15% of the lung area.

Comparison of hyperpolarized He-MRI, CT based parametric response mapping, and mucus scores in asthmatics.

The purpose of this study was to anatomically correlate ventilation defects with regions of air trapping by whole lung, lung lobe, and airway segment in the context of airway mucus plugging in asthma. A total of 34 asthmatics [13M:21F, 13 mild/moderate, median age (range) of 49.5 (36.

Imaging Regional Airway Involvement of Asthma: Heterogeneity in Ventilation, Mucus Plugs and Remodeling.

The imaging of asthma using chest computed tomography (CT) is well-established (Jarjour et al., Am J Respir Crit Care Med 185(4):356-62, 2012; Castro et al., J Allergy Clin Immunol 128:467-78, 2011).

Functional xenon-129 magnetic resonance imaging response to antifibrotic treatment in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

https://bit.ly/3ZXipzD.

Quantitative Imaging Metrics for the Assessment of Pulmonary Pathophysiology: An Official American Thoracic Society and Fleischner Society Joint Workshop Report.

Multiple thoracic imaging modalities have been developed to link structure to function in the diagnosis and monitoring of lung disease. Volumetric computed tomography (CT) renders three-dimensional maps of lung structures and may be combined with positron emission tomography (PET) to obtain dynamic physiological data. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) using ultrashort-echo time (UTE) sequences has improved signal detection from lung parenchyma; contrast agents are used to deduce airway function, ventilation-perfusion-diffusion, and mechanics.

Skeletal Muscle Adiposity and Lung Function Trajectory in the Severe Asthma Research Program.

Extrapulmonary manifestations of asthma, including fatty infiltration in tissues, may reflect systemic inflammation and influence lung function and disease severity. To determine if skeletal muscle adiposity predicts lung function trajectory in asthma. Adult SARP III (Severe Asthma Research Program III) participants with baseline computed tomography imaging and longitudinal postbronchodilator FEV% predicted (median follow-up 5 years [1,132 person-years]) were evaluated.

Hyperpolarized Xe MR Spectroscopy in the Lung Shows 1-year Reduced Function in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis.

Background Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a temporally and spatially heterogeneous lung disease. Identifying whether IPF in a patient is progressive or stable is crucial for treatment regimens. Purpose To assess the role of hyperpolarized (HP) xenon 129 (Xe) MRI measures of ventilation and gas transfer in IPF generally and as an early signature of future IPF progression.

Dynamic imaging using motion-compensated smoothness regularization on manifolds (MoCo-SToRM).

. We introduce an unsupervised motion-compensated reconstruction scheme for high-resolution free-breathing pulmonary magnetic resonance imaging..

Quantitative cardiopulmonary magnetic resonance imaging in neonatal congenital diaphragmatic hernia.

Background: Pulmonary arterial hypertension, impaired cardiac function and lung hypoplasia are common in infants with congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) and are associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Robust noninvasive methods to quantify these abnormalities in early infancy are lacking.

Objective: To determine the feasibility of MRI to quantify cardiopulmonary hemodynamics and function in infants with CDH and to investigate left-right blood flow and lung volume discrepancies.

Quantitative CT Characteristics of Cluster Phenotypes in the Severe Asthma Research Program Cohorts.

Background Clustering key clinical characteristics of participants in the Severe Asthma Research Program (SARP), a large, multicenter prospective observational study of patients with asthma and healthy controls, has led to the identification of novel asthma phenotypes. Purpose To determine whether quantitative CT (qCT) could help distinguish between clinical asthma phenotypes. Materials and Methods A retrospective cross-sectional analysis was conducted with the use of qCT images (maximal bronchodilation at total lung capacity [TLC], or inspiration, and functional residual capacity [FRC], or expiration) from the cluster phenotypes of SARP participants (cluster 1: minimal disease; cluster 2: mild, reversible; cluster 3: obese asthma; cluster 4: severe, reversible; cluster 5: severe, irreversible) enrolled between September 2001 and December 2015.

Dynamic contrast enhanced MRI for the evaluation of lung perfusion in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

Background: The objective of this work was to apply quantitative and semiquantitative dynamic contrast enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) methods to evaluate lung perfusion in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).

Methods: In this prospective trial 41 subjects, including healthy control and IPF subjects, were studied using DCE-MRI at baseline. IPF subjects were then followed for 1 year; progressive IPF (IPF) subjects were distinguished from stable IPF (IPF) subjects based on a decline in percent predicted forced vital capacity (FVC % pred) or diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide ( % pred) measured during follow-up visits.