The Successful Use of Unenriched Xenon in Dissolved Gas MRI: A Case Report

Motivation: We sought to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of a hyperpolarized gas MRI protocol for assessing the pulmonary physiology of long-COVID. Goal(s): Our goal was to gather preliminary dissolved phase images utilizing unenriched xenon. Approach: Volumes of 300mL and 500mL of unenriched xenon were hyperpolarized using a 180W diode laser at 795nm and administered to two healthy subjects. Scans were obtained using a 3T SIGNATM Premier scanner and a 129Xe Quadrature T/R lung coil. Images were masked using signal-to-noise thresholding on tissue/plasma signal. Results: We found strong red blood cell and tissue/plasma xenon signal in both subjects utilizing 300mL of unenriched xenon. Impact: At present time, successful dissolved xenon imaging has only been described with the use of enriched xenon-129. Our findings suggest that less expensive and more widely available unenriched xenon may be used in dissolved gas MRI.