MRI of the Lung: Non-invasive Protocols and Applications to Small Animal Models of Lung Disease

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can be used in pre-clinical studies as a non-invasive imaging tool for assessing the morphological and functional impact of lung diseases and for evaluating the efficacy of potential treatments for airways diseases. Hyperpolarized gases (³ He or ¹²⁹ Xe) MRI provides insight into the lung ventilation function. Lung proton MRI provides information on lung diseases associated with inflammatory activity or with changes in lung tissue density. These imaging techniques can be implemented with non-invasive protocols appropriate for longitudinal investigations in small animal models of lung diseases. This chapter will detail two ³ He and proton lung MR imaging protocols applied on two models of lung pathology in rodents.