ABSTRACT
I. Introduction 267
II. Intravascular Xenon-129 Imaging 268
A. Xenon Delivery to Tissues 269
B. Polarized Xenon NMR in Tissues 271
C. Polarized Xenon Imaging in Tissues 272
III. Intravascular Helium-3 Imaging 274
A. Helium Delivery to Tissues 274
B. Polarized Helium Imaging in Tissues 276
IV. Intravascular Carbon-13 Imaging 279
A. Carbon-13 Polarization Techniques 279
B. Polarized Carbon-13 Imaging in Tissues 280
V. Applications of Intravascular Polarized Imaging Agents 280
A. Compared Properties 280
B. Imaging Applications 282
References 284
I. Introduction
Since the first demonstration of the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) potential
of laser-polarized nuclei by Albert et al. (1), polarized nuclei ventilation imaging
studies have demonstrated the greatest advancements in terms of clinical appli-
cation and research. Numerous studies in animal models, volunteers, and patients
have been reported (2-6) and a large spectrum of applications, from partial
alveolar oxygen pressure assessments (7) to diffusion measurements (8), has
been demonstrated.
