A Prospective, Cohort Study of Hyperpolarized 3He MRI in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

The purpose of this study is to determine the MRI characteristics of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease subjects both at baseline and yearly for a period of 5 years, and to correlate these biomarkers with pulmonary function tests, CT scan, 6 Minute-walk tests, and respiratory questionnaires. The central hypothesis is that quantitative assessment of the lung through magnetic resonance imaging of hyperpolarized 3He can detect early alterations in structure and function which are precursors to clinically apparent COPD and that these precursors can be used to predict progression of disease earlier and better than established clinical methods. Novel assessments using 3He MRI will lead to new information about COPD and will be critical for characterizing disease response to therapy. A secondary hypothesis is that a variety of technical improvements in the techniques of hyperpolarized gas MRI will accelerate the translation of this relatively new modality to clinical use.