Feasibility of Regional Lung Ventilation Imaging Using 3T MR Imaging With Ultrashort Echo Time (UTE) Pulse Sequences
Condition: Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      Structural lung and airway alterations in CF lead to focal or heterogeneous abnormalities in
      regional lung ventilation. The quantitative assessment of structural and functional
      alterations in the lung is of great importance for the phenotyping and follow-up of CF
      patients. The goal of this study is to assess the feasibility of measuring the changes in
      proton density in the lung parenchyma with inflation and deflation during the respiratory
      cycle, using ultrashort echo time (UTE) pulse sequence MRI, in healthy adult volunteers.
    

Detailed description: 
      Cystic fibrosis (CF) is the most common severe autosomal recessive genetic disease in
      Caucasians. severe structural alterations in the airways and parenchyma, such as
      bronchiectasis, mucus plugging, air trapping and infiltrations. These in turn result in focal
      or heterogeneous abnormalities in regional lung ventilation. End-stage lung disease remains
      the main cause of morbidity and mortality in CF patients. Currently, new targeted CFTR
      correctors and potentiators are under trial. The quantitative assessment of structural and
      functional alterations in the lung is of great importance for the phenotyping and follow-up
      of CF patients, and for the assessment of targeted therapeutic interventions. Computed
      tomography (CT) is considered as the technology of choice for lung imaging in CF. However, CT
      requires exposure to significant ionizing radiation, which is a major concern in the
      pediatric population because children are more radiosensitive than adults and there is an
      increased risk of radiation-induced cancer from the cumulative dose related to repeated CT
      investigations. Recent improvements in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology offer a
      non-ionizing alternative to CT for imaging the lung parenchyma. The goal of this study is to
      assess the feasibility of measuring the changes in proton density in the lung parenchyma with
      inflation and deflation during the respiratory cycle, using ultrashort echo time (UTE) pulse
      sequence MRI, in healthy adult volunteers. If the regional changes in proton density in the
      lung parenchyma during the respiratory cycle prove to be measurable in healthy volunteers,
      then MRI can be used to quantify regional lung ventilation. This would offer a unique
      non-invasive, radiation- and contrast media-free alternative to CT for phenotyping and
      follow-up of CF patients.
    

Intervention name(s): Lung MRI examination
Intervention type(s): Other
Intervention description(s): Lung MRI examination is performed for approximately 30 min on a 3T machine (Achieva 3T, Philips) using UTE sequences, both during free breathing with image synchronisation using an echo-navigator, and during an end-inspiratory and end-expiratory pauses. In the 10 first subjects, the MR protocol is optimized in order to maximize MRI parenchymal signal intensity, signal-to-noise ratio and contrast-to-noise ratio. The final image acquisition parameters will be applied in the following 30 subjects in order to assess the outcomes of the study.
Intervention model: Single Group Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Other
Keywords: Respiratory Function Tests; Lung