Hyperpolarized Noble Gas Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Introduction Hyperpolarized noble gas magnetic resonance imaging (HP gas MRI) is a new and innovative imaging method that has made it possible, for the first time, to obtain high resolution MR images of air-filled organs such as the lungs, as well as lipid rich tissue such as the brain. Unlike conventional MRI which relies on the detection of water protons in biological tissue, HP gas MRI is based on the detection of helium (He) or xenon (Xe) gas that is inhaled by the subject. Though He and Xe are normally below the detection threshold for MRI, the process of hyperpolarization increases their detectability by about a hundred thousand times. Systems for generating hyperpolarized gas are now available, and because image resolution with this technique is not dependent on high magnetic field strength, it can be feasibly carried out in most any clinical or research setting.