Development and application of hyperpolarized krypton-83 as a new MRI contrast agent

Hyperpolarized (hp) gases such 129Xe and 83Kr (spin I = 1/2 and I = 9/2 respectively) can allow for significantly enhanced signal in a number of magnetic resonance applications. As a result there has been a growing interest in recent years to advance hp noble gas technology to non-invasively image t...

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Main Author: Hughes-Riley, Theodore
Format: Thesis (University of Nottingham only)
Language:English
Published: 2014
Subjects:
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/14460/
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author Hughes-Riley, Theodore
author_facet Hughes-Riley, Theodore
author_sort Hughes-Riley, Theodore
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description Hyperpolarized (hp) gases such 129Xe and 83Kr (spin I = 1/2 and I = 9/2 respectively) can allow for significantly enhanced signal in a number of magnetic resonance applications. As a result there has been a growing interest in recent years to advance hp noble gas technology to non-invasively image the airspace of lungs, with the goal of developing a helpful probe for lung pathologies. 83Kr longitudinal relaxation (T1) has been shown to be sensitive to various surface properties, and may prove to be an interesting for identifying certain diseases including those that change surface chemistry (such as cystic fibrosis) or the surface-to-volume ratio in the lung (like in emphysema). This thesis contains several studies furthering 83Kr lung imaging, while also exploring methods for 129Xe imaging. A major focus has been on increasing spin polarization of the noble gases, as an increased polarization yields a greater MR signal strength. A novel low-pressure spin-exchange optical pumping technique has been utilized in this work allowing for 83Kr polarizations exceeding 17.5 %; as opposed to 4.4 % previously reported in literature. Gas produced in this fashion must be pressurized to above ambient before it is possible for it to be delivered to a lung. Two methodologies for pressurizing the noble gas via compression are explored and optimized for hp gas delivery to excised lungs with 83Kr polarizations as high as 13.8 % achievable after compression. This ultimately allowed for the first ever coronal 83Kr lung images in an ex vivo lung model. Further work repeated with isotopically enriched 83Kr achieved a surface-sensitive T1 relaxation map in this system. Finally gas handling techniques where created to allow for efficient and thorough mixing of the hp noble gases and O2 while minimizing relaxation effects. This is vital for any future in vivo studies.
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spelling nottingham-144602025-02-28T11:31:00Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/14460/ Development and application of hyperpolarized krypton-83 as a new MRI contrast agent Hughes-Riley, Theodore Hyperpolarized (hp) gases such 129Xe and 83Kr (spin I = 1/2 and I = 9/2 respectively) can allow for significantly enhanced signal in a number of magnetic resonance applications. As a result there has been a growing interest in recent years to advance hp noble gas technology to non-invasively image the airspace of lungs, with the goal of developing a helpful probe for lung pathologies. 83Kr longitudinal relaxation (T1) has been shown to be sensitive to various surface properties, and may prove to be an interesting for identifying certain diseases including those that change surface chemistry (such as cystic fibrosis) or the surface-to-volume ratio in the lung (like in emphysema). This thesis contains several studies furthering 83Kr lung imaging, while also exploring methods for 129Xe imaging. A major focus has been on increasing spin polarization of the noble gases, as an increased polarization yields a greater MR signal strength. A novel low-pressure spin-exchange optical pumping technique has been utilized in this work allowing for 83Kr polarizations exceeding 17.5 %; as opposed to 4.4 % previously reported in literature. Gas produced in this fashion must be pressurized to above ambient before it is possible for it to be delivered to a lung. Two methodologies for pressurizing the noble gas via compression are explored and optimized for hp gas delivery to excised lungs with 83Kr polarizations as high as 13.8 % achievable after compression. This ultimately allowed for the first ever coronal 83Kr lung images in an ex vivo lung model. Further work repeated with isotopically enriched 83Kr achieved a surface-sensitive T1 relaxation map in this system. Finally gas handling techniques where created to allow for efficient and thorough mixing of the hp noble gases and O2 while minimizing relaxation effects. This is vital for any future in vivo studies. 2014-12-09 Thesis (University of Nottingham only) NonPeerReviewed application/pdf en arr https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/14460/1/TWB_Hughes-Riley_Final_Thesis_Edited.pdf Hughes-Riley, Theodore (2014) Development and application of hyperpolarized krypton-83 as a new MRI contrast agent. PhD thesis, University of Nottingham. Hyperpolarized gases Krypton-83 Magnetic resonance imaging Contrast media
spellingShingle Hyperpolarized gases
Krypton-83
Magnetic resonance imaging
Contrast media
Hughes-Riley, Theodore
Development and application of hyperpolarized krypton-83 as a new MRI contrast agent
title Development and application of hyperpolarized krypton-83 as a new MRI contrast agent
title_full Development and application of hyperpolarized krypton-83 as a new MRI contrast agent
title_fullStr Development and application of hyperpolarized krypton-83 as a new MRI contrast agent
title_full_unstemmed Development and application of hyperpolarized krypton-83 as a new MRI contrast agent
title_short Development and application of hyperpolarized krypton-83 as a new MRI contrast agent
title_sort development and application of hyperpolarized krypton-83 as a new mri contrast agent
topic Hyperpolarized gases
Krypton-83
Magnetic resonance imaging
Contrast media
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/14460/