Assessment of Emphysema Using 1.5T MRI With UTE Pulse Sequences

Emphysema is a major pathological feature of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Non-invasive assessment of emphysema is a crucial issue for the phenotype and follow-up of COPD patients. Currently, CT is the method of reference to evaluate and quantify emphysema but it remains a radiation-based technique. Magnetic Resonance Imagery (MRI) with ultrashort echo time (UTE) pulse sequences is a promising non-ionizing alternative for lung imaging. Our objective is to evaluate emphysema in COPD patients using CT and MR-UTE, and to test the agreement between both techniques.