Pulmonary Magnetic Resonance Imaging for Airway Diseases

Abstract

Pulmonary magnetic resonance (MR) imaging has been put forward as a new research and diagnostic tool mainly to overcome the limitations of computed tomography and nuclear medicine studies. However, pulmonary MR imaging has been difficult to use because of inherently low proton density, a multitude of air-tissue interfaces, which create significant magnetic field distortions and are commonly referred to as susceptibility artifacts; diminishing signal in the lung; and respiratory and/or cardiac motion artifacts. To overcome these drawbacks of pulmonary MR imaging, technical advances made during the last decade in sequencing, scanner and coil, adaptation of parallel imaging techniques, and utilization of contrast media have been reported as being useful for functional and morphologic assessment of various pulmonary diseases including airway diseases. This review article covers (1) pulmonary MR techniques for morphologic and functional assessment of airway diseases, and (2) pulmonary MR imaging for cystic fibrosis, asthma, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Pulmonary MR imaging provides not only morphology-related but also pulmonary function-related information. It has the potential to replace nuclear medicine studies for the identification of regional pulmonary function and may perform a complementary role in airway disease assessment instead of nuclear medicine study. We believe that the findings of further basic studies as well as clinical applications of this new technique will validate the real significance of pulmonary MR imaging for the future of airway disease assessment and its usefulness for diagnostic radiology and pulmonary medicine.

MRI of pneumonia in immunocompromised patients: comparison with CT

“…In the past, MRI was not accepted as an effective method of pulmonary evaluation because of low proton density, susceptibility artifacts due to the air-tissue interfaces, low signal intensity, respiratory and cardiac pulsation artifacts, and weak resolution (9). In addition, the longer duration of MRI application severely restricted its use.…”

Quantitative pulmonary imaging using computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging

“…While recent reviews of oxygen-enhanced proton MRI 67, 68 and noble gas MRI 63 have recently been published, here we focus on novel lung functional MRI using noble gases and their comparison to CT in acknowledgement of the unprecedented opportunity these methods provide for respiratory medicine.…”

“…61 Recently, there has been a renewed interest in the clinical potential of thoracic MRI stimulated by cardiac MRI developments, 62 by novel pulmonary functional MRI using noble gas contrast agents 63 as well as oxygen-enhanced 64 and Fourierdecomposition proton MRI 65,66 of the lung. While recent reviews of oxygen-enhanced proton MRI 67,68 and noble gas MRI 63 have recently been published, here we focus on novel lung functional MRI using noble gases and their comparison to CT in acknowledgement of the unprecedented opportunity these methods provide for respiratory medicine.…”

Pulmonary high‐resolution ultrashort TE MR imaging: Comparison with thin‐section standard‐ and low‐dose computed tomography for the assessment of pulmonary parenchyma diseases

“…MR imaging has been applied in a limited basis to different lung, mediastinal, and pleural diseases beginning in the early 1990s . In the 2000s, various technical advances led to MR potentially having a complimentary role in management of pulmonary and/or cardiopulmonary diseases to computed tomography (CT) on a limited basis. More recently, MR imaging with ultrashort echo time (UTE) has been applied for quantitative and qualitative assessment of lung parenchyma changes …”