Potential of noncontrast electrocardiogram-gated half-fourier fast-spin-echo magnetic resonance imaging to monitor dynamically altered perfusion in regional lung

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: The potential of a noncontrast, electrocardiography (ECG)-gated fast-spin-echo (FSE) MR imaging (MRI) to monitor dynamically altered regional lung perfusion was assessed in acute and temporal pulmonary embolic and airway obstruction dog models. MATERIALS AND METHODS: After acquisition of ECG-gated multiphase FSE MR images during one cardiac cycle, the two phase images of the minimal lung signal intensity (SI) during systole and the maximal SI during diastole were acquired in the lower lung levels in six normal dogs, in 13 dogs before and for 35 minutes after temporal microvascular embolization in regional lungs with gradually degradable starch microspheres of spherex, and in 12 dogs before and for 45 minutes after bronchial occlusion with a balloon catheter. In three of the 13 embolic models, the opposite lung areas, however, were permanently embolized with enbucrilate. Subtraction between the diastolic and systolic images yielded a perfusion-weighted image. The results were compared with a gadolinium diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (Gd-DTPA)-enhanced dynamic perfusion MRI, which was subsequently performed after the ECG-gated MRI in each animal. RESULTS: The multiphase FSE images provided cardiac-dependent pulsatile lung SI changes, and the subtracted perfusion-weighted images provided a uniform perfusion map in normal lungs. In all the embolic models, the subtracted perfusion-weighted images showed gradual disappearance of the spherex-induced perfusion deficits, while the enbucrilate-induced perfusion deficits persistently remained in the three animals. In all airway obstruction models, these images showed gradually decreased perfusion in the hypoventilated areas. These results were consistent with the matched Gd-DTPA-enhanced pulmonary arterial perfusion phase images in each animal. CONCLUSION: This noncontrast perfusion MRI may have excellent potential for continuously monitoring dynamically changed regional lung perfusion within a short time on its high spatial resolution cross-sectional images.