System and method for improved detection and assessment of changes in lung-tissue structure
First Claim
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1. A method for detecting or assessing changes in lung-tissue in a lung, said method comprising:
- generating hyperpolarized Xe129 gas;
introducing said gas into the lung after the lung is positioned within an appropriate radio-frequency coil that is within a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) apparatus;
acquiring at least two magnetic resonance signals from Xe129 nuclei within the lung wherein said signals are “
diffusion sensitized”
such that the value of a property of said signals varies between the signals and reflects, among other possible effects, the degree to which diffusion has affected said signals;
calculating apparent diffusion coefficient values from said diffusion-sensitized magnetic resonance signals; and
evaluating apparent diffusion coefficient values.
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Abstract
A method and system is described for measuring the apparent diffusion coefficient of Xe129 in the lung as a means to detect and assess changes in lung-tissue structure such as those that occur in certain pulmonary diseases. The main steps of this process include: polarizing the Xe129 gas; introducing said gas into the lung; acquiring sets of Xe 129 M R signals with various diffusion sensitizations; calculating Xe 129 ADC values; and evaluating said ADC values by comparison of the values in a region of interest to those in different regions of the lung or to normative values.
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Citations
55 Claims
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1. A method for detecting or assessing changes in lung-tissue in a lung, said method comprising:
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generating hyperpolarized Xe129 gas;
introducing said gas into the lung after the lung is positioned within an appropriate radio-frequency coil that is within a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) apparatus;
acquiring at least two magnetic resonance signals from Xe129 nuclei within the lung wherein said signals are “
diffusion sensitized”
such that the value of a property of said signals varies between the signals and reflects, among other possible effects, the degree to which diffusion has affected said signals;
calculating apparent diffusion coefficient values from said diffusion-sensitized magnetic resonance signals; and
evaluating apparent diffusion coefficient values. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. An MRI apparatus for detecting or assessing changes in lung-tissue structure of a lung using hyperpolarized Xe129 gas, said apparatus comprising:
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a radio frequency coil, wherein the gas is introduced into the lung and the lung is positioned within said radio-frequency coil;
an MR images acquisition means, said MR images acquisition means acquiring at least two magnetic resonance signals from Xe129 nuclei within the lung wherein said signals are “
diffusion sensitized”
such that the value of a property of said signals varies between the signals and reflects, among other possible effects, the degree to which diffusion has affected said signals;
calculating means, said calculating means for calculating apparent diffusion coefficient values from said diffusion-sensitized resonance signals; and
an evaluating means, said evaluating means for evaluating coefficient values. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55)
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Specification