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Exchange-weighted xenon-129 nuclear magnetic resonance system and related method

  • US 20070225592A1
  • Filed: 03/09/2005
  • Published: 09/27/2007
  • Est. Priority Date: 03/10/2004
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
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1. A method of characterizing properties of a certain structure or material, the structure or material having at least one compartment therein, said at least one compartment defining at least one reference compartment and the structure or material having at least one other compartment therein, said at least one other compartment defining at least one target compartment, said method comprising:

  • a) introducing hyperpolarized xenon-129 gas in the structure or material and placing the structure or material in a NMR or MRI system;

    b) creating transverse magnetization from the hyperpolarized xenon-129 gas in at least one of the reference compartments that has a corresponding chemical shift;

    c) leaving the NMR or MRI system unperturbed for an appropriately chosen delay time, wherein said delay time is chosen such that a sufficiently large quantity of xenon-129 atoms enter the target compartments from the reference compartment, the xenon-129 transverse magnetization in the target compartments acquires a relatively large range of phase shifts with respect to the transverse magnetization in the reference compartment, and xenon-129 atoms in the target compartments diffuse back to the compartment boundary where they exchange with the reference compartment, thereby defining an exchange process, and upon return to the reference compartment the transverse magnetization is dephased relative to that which remained in the reference compartment and this transverse magnetization from the target compartments thus makes a reduced contribution to the coherent gas-phase signal, which results in a reduced net signal from the alveolar gas-phase transverse magnetization compared to the situation wherein there is relatively reduced or no xenon exchange between the reference and target compartments; and

    d) measuring said signal from hyperpolarized xenon-1129 in the reference compartment.

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