Pulmonary Imaging Research Projects

In the Center for Pulmonary Imaging Research (CPIR), our goal is to translate scientific findings and new imaging methods to clinical trials that ultimately impact patient care.

Our current research is focused on obstructive lung diseases (cystic fibrosis, asthma, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease); neonatal and infant imaging research; interstitial, rare-lung diseases, and transplantation; computational fluid dynamics and airway research; MRI technical developments; and pre-clinical imaging.

Obstructive Lung Diseases

The CPIR and our collaborators investigate airway function in several obstructive lung disease (ex: CF, Asthma, COPD, BPD) using hyperpolarized (HP) 129 Xe MRI which uniquely images pulmonary ventilation, gas exchange, and terminal airspace morphology rapidly and safely, providing novel information not possible using conventional imaging modalities or pulmonary function tests, potentially leading to clinical treatment applications.

Learn more about our obstructive lung diseases research.

Interstitial, Rare-lung Diseases and Transplantation

Interstitial lung disease (ILD) includes a large group of disorders that affect the interstitium in the lung (ex: Pulmonary hypoplasia, Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), Bronchiolitis obliterans (BO), Neuroendocrine cell hyperplasia of infancy (NEHI) and Lymphangiomatosis, to name a few). The interstitium lies between the alveolar sacs in the lung where gas exchange occurs. Our research and MRI methods help investigate and quantify lung ventilation abnormalities that often accompany these conditions in children.

Learn more about our interstitial, rare-lung diseases and transplantation research. 

Neonatal and Infant Imaging Research

An innovative, high-field magnetic resonance (MR) scanner is currently in operation for investigational use in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). It is the only MR scanner in the world housed within a NICU and specifically designed for infants.

MR scans are vital to neonatologists who need precise data that might change a newborn’s course of care. Because they do not use radiation, MR scans also present less of a health risk than other imaging technologies, especially in preterm infants whose systems are still developing.

Learn more about our neonatal and infant imaging research.

Pre-clinical Imaging

The In Vivo Microimaging Laboratory (IVML) is a dedicated facility for pre-clinical MRI. It consists of a horizontal bore 7T system and a 9.4T vertical bore system. These scanners allow imaging with up to 150 µm isotropic resolution. In addition to anatomic imaging, a variety of advanced techniques can be performed using these scanners, including MR spectroscopy, diffusion-weighted imaging, and cardiac MRI. Pre-Clinical MRI allows for non-invasive assessment of many models of human disease (e.g., cancers, liver fibrosis, cardiac disease), including longitudinal follow-up to look for changes over time.

Learn more about our pre-clinical imaging.

Novel MRI Acquisition and Reconstruction Strategies

Our faculty and researchers are focused on the latest developments in visualizing and quantifying images, airflow, and basic physical science MRI techniques. Some of the techniques we have developed are:

• Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations of respiratory airflow have the potential to change the clinical assessment of regional airway function in health and disease, in pulmonary medicine and otolaryngology.
• Validation of a fully automated artificial intelligence (AI)-driven scoring system of CF lung disease severity.
• Demonstrating the removal of off-resonance Xe gas artifacts using no/minimal sequence modifications/data acquisitions, allowing previously acquired images to be corrected retroactively.
• Fetal DW-MRI (diffusion weight MRI) provides a non-invasive biomarker for pulmonary structural maturation, with a strong correlation to histological markers during tissue development in rhesus macaques. This method has potential for assessing human fetal development, particularly in patients with pulmonary hypoplasia.

Learn more about our Novel MRI Acquisition and Reconstruction Strategies.