NSF Award
0093448
0093448<br/>Albert<br/>A very low-field (VLF) MRI system employing the signal from hyperpolarized 3He and 129Xe will be developed in order to investigate the human lung, and to explore the potential for a low-cost, portable research and diagnostic tool for the detection and staging of pulmonary diseases. The vastly enhanced signal from such hyperpolarized species is strong enough to permit high speed imaging of the gas-space they occupy, makes them intriguing MR probes. The field has developed considerably in the past five years, since the PI and collaborators invented hyperpolarized noble gas MRI by acquiring MR images of a mouse lung that had been inflated with hyperpolarized 129Xe. Of special importance is the high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) achievable in hyperpolarized noble gas MRI, at very low-field (VLF). VLF MRI becomes feasible since the level of polarization of the nuclei is set by the hyperpolarization process, and is independent of the static magnetic field. VLF noble gas MRI may lead to inexpensive, portable imaging systems. The development of a VLF MRI system is proposed using a custom-made resistive magnet of 100-200 Gauss. Gradient, shim, and RF coils will be developed and interfaced to a commercial low frequency MRI console. A spatial resolution on the order of 0.1 mm is planned over a field of view of 30 cm DSV, the typical size of human lungs. Preliminary human lung imaging studies will be conducted. A long term objective is the development of a low-cost portable unit that can be used for lung screening in a variety of clinics, physician's offices and nursing homes, and perhaps even for space-based pulmonary function research in microgravity environments.<br/><br/>The education component of our proposed program contains four primary elements: (i) the development of an outreach program to precollege students and a teacher training program; (ii) the development of course lectures at the Center for Engineering in Medicine at Harvard Medical School on the principles and use of imaging modalities in biomedicine and tissue engineering; (iii) the training of graduate and undergraduate students and postdoctoral fellows as researchers; and (iv) the development of a teaching module on how basic principles of physics are applied to lasers and magnetic resonance, and can yield serendipitous applications to biology. Secondary educational activities include participation in seminar and lecture series in the MR Division at BWH, contributions to education and training infrastructure, and the establishment of industrial internships and partnerships. The development of an outreach program in biomedical engineering to precollege students and a teacher training program, supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, is designed to make science and science activities more accessible to the young people who will become future scientists. Through these efforts, teachers and students alike are encouraged to participate in hands-on training and to share what they learn with others. In a collaboration with Boston University, a new graduate course on special topics in bio-photonics is being created, as part of their NSF-CRCD program, which will develop lectures on optical pumping for hyperpolarized xenon and helium MRI. Included among researchers and students in our program's projects are under-represented groups and women pursuing advanced degrees in science and engineering.
