RF instrumentation for same-breath triple nuclear lung MR imaging of 1H and hyperpolarized 3He and 129Xe at 1.5T

Purpose The hyperpolarized gases 3He and 129Xe have distinct properties and provide unique and complementary functional information from the lungs. A triple‐nuclear, same‐breath imaging examination of the lungs with 1H, 3He, and 129Xe can therefore provide exclusive functional information from the gas images. In addition, the 1H images provide complementary co‐registered structural information in the same physiological time frame. The goal of this study was to design an RF system for triple nuclear lung MRI at 1.5T, consisting of a dual‐tuned transceiver coil for 3He and 129Xe, RF switches and a nested 1H receiver array. Methods A dual‐tuned transmit‐receive dual‐Helmholtz RF coil for 3He and 129Xe was designed and constructed to work in unison with a nested 1H receiver array. Results Triple‐nuclear imaging (structural and ventilation) and apparent diffusion coefficient mapping of the human lungs was performed in the same breath‐hold using the integrated RF system. B1 maps and volumetric ventilation imaging using a three‐dimensional, balanced steady‐state free precession pulse sequence performed with both hyperpolarized 3He and 129Xe indicate good stand‐alone performance of the coil for the respective nucleus. Conclusion Triple‐nuclear same‐breath lung imaging with a dual‐tuned coil (3He and 129Xe) and a nested 1H array has been demonstrated with a custom RF system. Magn Reson Med 75:1841–1848, 2016. © © The Authors Magnetic Resonance in Medicine published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.