Very-low-field MRI of laser polarized xenon-129

Enhanced 129 Xe T1 relaxation in whole blood and in the presence of SPIONs at low magnetic field strengths

PURPOSE

To compare the effect of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) on the T1 of 129 Xe and 1 H and to measure the relaxation of 129 Xe in blood at low and high magnetic field strengths.

METHODS

129 Xe and 1 H T1 relaxometry was performed at low- and high-field strengths in samples containing different SPION concentrations, while imaging was used to compare the contrast obtainable in these two field regimes. In vivo experiments at variable field strengths were performed to determine the depolarization of 129 Xe in blood and the feasibility of in vivo dissolved-phase spectroscopy and imaging at low field.

RESULTS

The SPION relaxivity was substantially greater at low field for 1 H, increasing from 0.92 ± 0.06 mM s-1 at 11.7T to 31.5 ± 1.8 mM s-1 at 0.6 mT, and for 129 Xe, which increased from 0.13 ± 0.03 mM s-1 at 11.7T to 7.32 ± 0.71 mM s-1 at 2.1 mT. The additional MR signal loss increased from 0.7% at 9.4T to 20.6 ± 4.2% at 0.6 mT for 1 H and from -0.7 ± 3.4% at 9.4T to 12.7 ± 3.5% at 2.1 mT for 129 Xe. Blood was found to depolarize 129 Xe below 3T in a manner inversely proportional to the field strength. In vitro studies at 2.1 mT suggest 129 Xe relaxation times below 5 s in blood dilutions as low as 0.4% volume.

CONCLUSION

SPIONs longitudinal relaxivity increases at low field both for 1 H and 129 Xe. The depolarization of xenon in blood, which is found to increase below 3T, effectively prevents in vivo dissolved-phase spectroscopy and imaging at low-field strengths.

A method for imaging and spectroscopy using γ-rays and magnetic resonance

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides fine spatial resolution, spectral sensitivity and a rich variety of contrast mechanisms for diagnostic medical applications. Nuclear imaging using γ-ray cameras offers the benefits of using small quantities of radioactive tracers that seek specific targets of interest within the body. Here we describe an imaging and spectroscopic modality that combines favourable aspects of both approaches. Spatial information is encoded into the spin orientations of tiny amounts of a polarized radioactive tracer using pulses of both radio-frequency electromagnetic radiation and magnetic-field gradients, as in MRI. However, rather than detecting weak radio-frequency signals, imaging information is obtained through the detection of γ-rays. A single γ-ray detector can be used to acquire an image; no γ-ray camera is needed. We demonstrate the feasibility of our technique by producing images and spectra from a glass cell containing only about 4 × 10(13) atoms (about 1 millicurie) of the metastable isomer (131m)Xe that were polarized using the laser technique of spin-exchange optical pumping. If the cell had instead been filled with water and imaged using conventional MRI, then it would have contained more than 10(24) water molecules. The high sensitivity of our modality expands the breadth of applications of magnetic resonance, and could lead to a new class of radioactive tracers.