Method to Assess Lung Water Accumulation During Exercise

The goal of this non-significant risk medical device study is to test the initial technical feasibility of a 0.55T MRI in healthy volunteers by technical optimization of scanner protocols, and to test accuracy of standard MR measurements in adult patients with known stable disease. Exercise-induced lung water is a key feature in heart failure. Dynamic quantitative lung water imaging during exercise stress is therefore of interest to unmask latent heart failure. We developed a novel magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) method using a proton density weighted ultrashort echo time MRI sequence along with a time-resolved and respiratory motion compensated image reconstruction for exercise lung water imaging. We validated our method in a porcine model of dynamic lung water accumulation (n=5), and tested its feasibility for use in humans using 12 healthy subjects, 1 patient with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, and 1 patient with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction. Data suggest the novel imaging method is capable of dynamically imaging lung water accumulation during exercise stress. Reference 1 (PMID: 37288601) contains the main results for this study. ]]>
Inclusion criteriaMen and women age greater than or equal to 18 yearsAble to provide informed consent in writingWillingness to cooperate with all study procedureFor healthy volunteers: Currently healthy, self-reported For patients: Subjects having known stable heart diseaseExclusion criteriaConditions that are thought to make MRI unsafePregnancyFor healthy volunteers: Important past medical illnessFor patients: Unstable angina, acute coronary syndrome, or myocardial infarction not attributable to PCI, hemodynamic instability, or decompensated heart failure]]>