Inventors:
James Baumgardner - Milmont Park PA, US
David Lipson - Wynnewood PA, US
Rahim Rizi - Montgomeryville PA, US
David Roberts - Rosemont PA, US
Mitchell Schnall - Broomall PA, US
Assignee:
Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania - Philadelphia PA
International Classification:
A61B005/055
US Classification:
600420, 424 93, 324307, 324309
Abstract:
The present invention comprises imaging and quantitative measurement of lung ventilation, particularly in a human lung. Methods for quantitative imaging of lung ventilation, and the further provided systems and algorithmic tools therefore, comprise three primary components: the combined MRI ventilation/perfusion (V/Q) imaging techniques using hyperpolarized helium-3 (He) gas (HHe); the three-dimensional quantitative imaging of absolute lung perfusion (Q) and collection of local magnetic resonance image data therefrom to produce an absolute lung perfusion image data; and the algorithmic co-registration of the two image data sets, (HP-He MRI image of V/Q and MR imaging of quantitative perfusion (Q) in the lung). From the data acquired in the combined data sets and their spatial co-registration, absolute ventilation (V) is computed.