Visualization of human lung gas exchange function, achieve early diagnosis of lung cancer--"People's Daily" Ultrasensitive MRI technical:Lightening human lung

    Population health directly affects the economic development and social progress of a country. According to the annual statistical report of tumor incidence published by China in 2013,lung cancer is the primary malignant tumor,also the deadliest kind of cancer. Currently, every 4 who dead from cancer is killed by lung cancer. The development of instruments for early diagnosis of lung disease becomes a hot issue within international medical and scientific field.

    Recently, the research of lung MRI using hyperpolarized gas directed by Professor Xin Zhou's group from WUHAN INSTITUTE OF PHYSICS AND MATHEMATICS,CAS gives a possibility in visualization of human lung gas exchange function,helping diagnosis of lung cancer as earlier as possible.

    "As to the cancers, usually the functional lesion comes first,then it develops into structural lesion,which is the reason why the cancer usually diagnosed in its middle and advanced period. However,no instrument currently can achieve visualization of lung gas exchange function,which greatly hinders the early research of critical disease in lung."Said by Xin Zhou.

    Xin Zhou explained further,currently chest x-rays,CT and PET can all be used for lung imaging. However,the high energy ray emitted could kill white blood cells of human body,which does harm to human,so repeat of these scan should not be done in a shot time. On the other hand, pulmonary gas-gas exchange and gas-blood exchange function information is an important indicator of the health status of the lung, which can not be provided by imaging techniques such as CT and PET.

    "Not only structural information of lung can be obtained through our research ,but also visualization of lung gas exchange function will be researched thus, research can be done in human lung critical disease's early diagnosis." said by Xin Zhou, the primary principle is: firstly using laser technology to enhance electron spin signal,then transferring the electron signal to enhance In the laboratory, in Zhou represented the lung MRI instrument for lung critical disease diagnosis and treatment developed by himself and his group. This molecular probe and molecular imaging technique for ultra-low concentration detection can be used for early detection of cancer and tumor molecular." Conventional NMR techniques usually can only detect liquid,solid sample or tissue,not for  the gas NMR signal,because the density of gas is usually about 1000 times lower than that of liquid or solid.

    Hyperpolarized ₁₂₉Xe and ₃He technologies and devices developed by Xin Zhou can overcome this core challenges of NMR,which is non-radioactive,achieve the visualization detection of lung gas exchange and lightens the lung.

    He explained that all current clinical imaging methods (chest x-ray, CT, etc) can only obtain the structural information of lungs, however, the hyperpolarized Xe with high sensitive NMR signal could make lung MRI clear. It not only can be inhaled through breath as tracer, but also safely dissolves in blood and tissue, thus, hyperpolarized Xe MRI becomes current only imaging technique for lung function.

    Currently, people who hold the key technologies of hyperpolarization instrument are very few."This is an independent research and development, technology with independent intellectual property rights, belonging to the world's leading. Its success is built on generations of scientists' 30 years of work on NMR technology foundation." Xin Zhou said, currently this device has achieved a 10000 times enhancement on Xe NMR signal, and the first small animal in vivo lung MRI image has been successful acquired." Another year or so, human lung MRI image can be obtained, and clinical research will begin in 4 years."