Functional and Metabolic Imaging Group (FMIG)

Focus

Our group develops hyperpolarized¹³C and ¹²⁹Xe MRI techniques for molecular and functional imaging of a variety of pulmonary disorders. We use hyperpolarized ¹³C substrates to visualize and quantify alterations in regional metabolic activity in lungs in presence of inflammation and injury in a variety of pathologies including ARDS, COPD, lung allograft rejection, fibrosis as well as in lung cancer. We evaluate the use of this novel molecular imaging tool to detect early changes in disease progression and to investigate its efficacy to monitor response to therapy. We use ¹²⁹Xe imaging to visualize functional parameters of the lungs including ventilation, oxygen tension and uptake. The combination of our molecular and functional imaging tools paves the way for comprehensive assessment of the pulmonary system for the purpose of diagnosis, phenotyping as well as therapeutic evaluation.