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Nuclear magnetic resonance imaging of airways in humans with use of hyperpolarized 3 He
Author(s) -
Bachert Peter,
Schad Lothar R.,
Bock Michael,
Knopp Michael V.,
Ebert Michael,
Grobmann Tino,
Heil Werner,
Hofmann Dirk,
Surkau Reinhard,
Otten Ernst W.
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
magnetic resonance in medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.696
H-Index - 225
eISSN - 1522-2594
pISSN - 0740-3194
DOI - 10.1002/mrm.1910360204
Subject(s) - nuclear magnetic resonance , hyperpolarization (physics) , magnetic resonance imaging , polarization (electrochemistry) , excitation , chemistry , materials science , physics , nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy , medicine , quantum mechanics , radiology
The nuclear spin polarization of noble gases can be enhanced strongly by laser optical pumping followed by electron‐nuclear polarization transfer. Direct optical pumping of metastable 3 He atoms has been shown to produce enormous polarization on the order of 0.4–0.6. This is about 10 5 times larger than the polarization of water protons at thermal equilibrium used in conventional MRI. We demonstrate that hyper‐polarized 3 He gas can be applied to nuclear magnetic resonance imaging of organs with air‐filled spaces in humans. In vivo 3 He MR experiments were performed in a whole‐body MR scanner with a superconducting magnet ramped down to 0.8 T. Anatomical details of the upper respiratory tract and of the lungs of a volunteer were visualized with the FLASH technique demonstrating the potential of the method for fast imaging of airways in the human body and for pulmonary ventilation studies.