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Abstract #0820

Characterization of 3He Diffusion in Lungs Using a Stretched Exponential Model

Juan Parra-Robles1, Helen Marshall1, Jim M. Wild1

1Unit of Academic Radiology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom

In this work, the anomalous diffusion stretched-exponential model is used to describe multi b-value 3He MRI diffusion data from normal volunteers and COPD patients. Our results show that this model may provide a robust measure of changes in lung structure due to disease that is valid over a range of experimental conditions. This seems to indicate that the heterogeneity index &[alpha] is insensitive to a range of uncertainties in experimental conditions but sensitive to changes in lung structure due to COPD/emphysema.

Keywords

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