Regional fractional ventilation mapping in spontaneously breathing mice using hyperpolarized ¹²⁹Xe MRI

Spin Hyperpolarization in Modern Magnetic Resonance

Magnetic resonance techniques are successfully utilized in a broad range of scientific disciplines and in various practical applications, with medical magnetic resonance imaging being the most widely known example. Currently, both fundamental and applied magnetic resonance are enjoying a major boost owing to the rapidly developing field of spin hyperpolarization. Hyperpolarization techniques are able to enhance signal intensities in magnetic resonance by several orders of magnitude, and thus to largely overcome its major disadvantage of relatively low sensitivity. This provides new impetus for existing applications of magnetic resonance and opens the gates to exciting new possibilities. In this review, we provide a unified picture of the many methods and techniques that fall under the umbrella term "hyperpolarization" but are currently seldom perceived as integral parts of the same field. Specifically, before delving into the individual techniques, we provide a detailed analysis of the underlying principles of spin hyperpolarization. We attempt to uncover and classify the origins of hyperpolarization, to establish its sources and the specific mechanisms that enable the flow of polarization from a source to the target spins. We then give a more detailed analysis of individual hyperpolarization techniques: the mechanisms by which they work, fundamental and technical requirements, characteristic applications, unresolved issues, and possible future directions. We are seeing a continuous growth of activity in the field of spin hyperpolarization, and we expect the field to flourish as new and improved hyperpolarization techniques are implemented. Some key areas for development are in prolonging polarization lifetimes, making hyperpolarization techniques more generally applicable to chemical/biological systems, reducing the technical and equipment requirements, and creating more efficient excitation and detection schemes. We hope this review will facilitate the sharing of knowledge between subfields within the broad topic of hyperpolarization, to help overcome existing challenges in magnetic resonance and enable novel applications.

Preclinical MRI Using Hyperpolarized 129Xe

Although critical for development of novel therapies, understanding altered lung function in disease models is challenging because the transport and diffusion of gases over short distances, on which proper function relies, is not readily visualized. In this review we summarize progress introducing hyperpolarized ¹²⁹Xe imaging as a method to follow these processes in vivo. The work is organized in sections highlighting methods to observe the gas replacement effects of breathing (Gas Dynamics during the Breathing Cycle) and gas diffusion throughout the parenchymal airspaces (3). We then describe the spectral signatures indicative of gas dissolution and uptake (4), and how these features can be used to follow the gas as it enters the tissue and capillary bed, is taken up by hemoglobin in the red blood cells (5), re-enters the gas phase prior to exhalation (6), or is carried via the vasculature to other organs and body structures (7). We conclude with a discussion of practical imaging and spectroscopy techniques that deliver quantifiable metrics despite the small size, rapid motion and decay of signal and coherence characteristic of the magnetically inhomogeneous lung in preclinical models (8).

Hyperpolarized 129 Xe imaging of the brain: Achievements and future challenges

Hyperpolarized (HP) xenon-129 (¹²⁹ Xe) brain MRI is a promising imaging modality currently under extensive development. HP ¹²⁹ Xe is nontoxic, capable of dissolving in pulmonary blood, and is extremely sensitive to the local environment. After dissolution in the pulmonary blood, HP ¹²⁹ Xe travels with the blood flow to the brain and can be used for functional imaging such as perfusion imaging, hemodynamic response detection, and blood-brain barrier permeability assessment. HP ¹²⁹ Xe MRI imaging of the brain has been performed in animals, healthy human subjects, and in patients with Alzheimer's disease and stroke. In this review, the overall progress in the field of HP ¹²⁹ Xe brain imaging is discussed, along with various imaging approaches and pulse sequences used to optimize HP ¹²⁹ Xe brain MRI. In addition, current challenges and limitations of HP ¹²⁹ Xe brain imaging are discussed, as well as possible methods for their mitigation. Finally, potential pathways for further development are also discussed. HP ¹²⁹ Xe MRI of the brain has the potential to become a valuable novel perfusion imaging technique and has the potential to be used in the clinical setting in the future.

Tiny golden angle ultrashort echo-time lung imaging in mice

Imaging the lung parenchyma with MRI is particularly difficult in small animals due to the high respiratory and heart rates, and ultrashort T2* at high magnetic field strength caused by the high susceptibilities induced by the air-tissue interfaces. In this study, a 2D ultrashort echo-time (UTE) technique was combined with tiny golden angle (tyGA) ordering. Data were acquired continuously at 11.7 T and retrospective center-of-k-space gating was applied to reconstruct respiratory multistage images. Lung (proton) density (f_P ), T2*, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), fractional ventilation (FV) and perfusion (f) were quantified, and the application to dynamic contrast agent (CA)-enhanced (DCE) qualitative perfusion assessment tested. The interobserver and intraobserver and interstudy reproducibility of the quantitative parameters were investigated. High-quality images of the lung parenchyma could be acquired in all animals. Over all lung regions a mean T2* of 0.20 ± 0.05 ms was observed. FV resulted as 0.31 ± 0.13, and a trend towards lower SNR values during inspiration (EX: SNR = 12.48 ± 6.68, IN: SNR = 11.79 ± 5.86) and a significant (P < 0.001) decrease in lung density (EX: f_P  = 0.69 ± 0.13, IN: f_P  = 0.62 ± 0.13) were observed. Quantitative perfusion results as 34.63 ± 9.05 mL/cm³ /min (systole) and 32.77 ± 8.55 mL/cm³ /min (diastole) on average. The CA dynamics could be assessed and, because of the continuous nature of the data acquisition, reconstructed at different temporal resolutions. Where a good to excellent interobserver reproducibility and an excellent intraobserver reproducibility resulted, the interstudy reproducibility was only fair to good. In conclusion, the combination of tiny golden angles with UTE (2D tyGA UTE) resulted in a reliable imaging technique for lung morphology and function in mice, providing uniform k-space coverage and thus low-artefact images of the lung parenchyma after gating.

Hyperpolarized 129Xe Time-of-Flight MR Imaging of Perfusion and Brain Function

Perfusion measurements can provide vital information about the homeostasis of an organ and can therefore be used as biomarkers to diagnose a variety of cardiovascular, renal, and neurological diseases. Currently, the most common techniques to measure perfusion are ¹⁵O positron emission tomography (PET), xenon-enhanced computed tomography (CT), single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), dynamic contrast enhanced (DCE) MRI, and arterial spin labeling (ASL) MRI. Here, we show how regional perfusion can be quantitively measured with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) using time-resolved depolarization of hyperpolarized (HP) xenon-129 (¹²⁹Xe), and the application of this approach to detect changes in cerebral blood flow (CBF) due to a hemodynamic response in response to brain stimuli. The investigated HP ¹²⁹Xe Time-of-Flight (TOF) technique produced perfusion images with an average signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 10.35. Furthermore, to our knowledge, the first hemodynamic response (HDR) map was acquired in healthy volunteers using the HP ¹²⁹Xe TOF imaging. Responses to visual and motor stimuli were observed. The acquired HP TOF HDR maps correlated well with traditional proton blood oxygenation level-dependent functional MRI. Overall, this study expands the field of HP MRI with a novel dynamic imaging technique suitable for rapid and quantitative perfusion imaging.

Molecular hydrogen and catalytic combustion in the production of hyperpolarized 83Kr and 129Xe MRI contrast agents

Hyperpolarized (hp) (83)Kr is a promising MRI contrast agent for the diagnosis of pulmonary diseases affecting the surface of the respiratory zone. However, the distinct physical properties of (83)Kr that enable unique MRI contrast also complicate the production of hp (83)Kr. This work presents a previously unexplored approach in the generation of hp (83)Kr that can likewise be used for the production of hp (129)Xe. Molecular nitrogen, typically used as buffer gas in spin-exchange optical pumping (SEOP), was replaced by molecular hydrogen without penalty for the achievable hyperpolarization. In this particular study, the highest obtained nuclear spin polarizations were P =29% for(83)Kr and P= 63% for (129)Xe. The results were reproduced over many SEOP cycles despite the laser-induced on-resonance formation of rubidium hydride (RbH). Following SEOP, the H2 was reactively removed via catalytic combustion without measurable losses in hyperpolarized spin state of either (83)Kr or (129)Xe. Highly spin-polarized (83)Kr can now be purified for the first time, to our knowledge, to provide high signal intensity for the advancement of in vivo hp (83)Kr MRI. More generally, a chemical reaction appears as a viable alternative to the cryogenic separation process, the primary purification method of hp(129)Xe for the past 2 1/2 decades. The inherent simplicity of the combustion process will facilitate hp (129)Xe production and should allow for on-demand continuous flow of purified and highly spin-polarized (129)Xe.