A method for quantitative analysis of regional lung ventilation using deformable image registration of CT and hybrid hyperpolarized gas/H-1 MRI

摘要

Hyperpolarized gas magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) generates highly detailed maps of lung ventilation and physiological function while CT provides corresponding anatomical and structural information. Fusion of such complementary images enables quantitative analysis of pulmonary structure-function. However, direct image registration of hyperpolarized gas MRI to CT is problematic, particularly in lungs whose boundaries are difficult to delineate due to ventilation heterogeneity. This study presents a novel indirect method of registering hyperpolarized gas MRI to CT utilizing H-1-structural MR images that are acquired in the same breath-hold as the gas MRI. The feasibility of using this technique for regional quantification of ventilation of specific pulmonary structures is demonstrated for the lobes.