Comparison of Lung Ventilation and Perfusion on Commercial 0.55T and 1.5T Systems

Motivation: Non-contrast-enhanced matrix pencil (MP) decomposition pulmonary functional MRI can provide quantitative information about regional ventilation and perfusion impairment in the lung. Goal(s): To evaluate the impact of field strength and gradient performance on pulmonary functional MP-MRI. Approach: 2D time-resolved ultra-fast balanced steady state free precession (ufSSFP) datasets were acquired in six healthy volunteers on commercial 0.55T and 1.5T systems. In addition to protocols optimized for each system, parameters matched to the 0.55T gradient performance were also acquired at 1.5T. Results: The results highlight the benefits of low field for lung imaging despite the gradient performance of the 0.55T system. Impact: The comparative performance of functional lung MRI using matrix pencil decomposition for estimation of regional fractional ventilation and perfusion on commercial 0.55T and 1.5T systems is demonstrated, highlighting the advantages of low field MRI for pulmonary imaging.