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Brain MRI with laser‐polarized 129 xe
Author(s) -
Swanson Scott D.,
Rosen Matthew S.,
Agranoff Bernard W.,
Coulter Kevin P.,
Welsh Robert C.,
Chupp Timothy E.
Publication year - 1997
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.1910380503
Subject(s) - xenon , polarization (electrochemistry) , nuclear magnetic resonance , laser , isotopes of xenon , chemistry , brain tissue , cerebral blood flow , physics , optics , biomedical engineering , medicine , organic chemistry , cardiology
The feasibility of brain MRI with laser‐polarized 129 Xe in a small animal model is demonstrated. Naturally abundant 129 Xe is polarized and introduced into the lungs of Sprague‐Dawley rats. Polarized xenon gas dissolves in the blood and is transported to the brain where it accumulates in brain tissue. Spectroscopic studies reveal a single, dominant, tissue‐phase NMR resonance in the head at 194.5 ppm relative to the gas phase resonance. Images of 129 Xe in the rat head were obtained with 98‐μl voxels by 2D chemical shift imaging and show that xenon is localized to the brain. This work establishes that nuclear polarization produced in the gas phases survives transport to the brain where it may be imaged. Increases in polarization and delivered volume of 129 Xe will allow clinical measurements of regional cerebral blood flow.