Date of Award

2007

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Program

Medical Biophysics

Supervisor

Dr. Giles Santyr

Second Advisor

Dr. David Holdsworth

Third Advisor

Dr. Ian MacDonald

Abstract

In this thesis, the upper-limit volume (gas plus partial tissue volume) as well as absolute volume (gas only) of lungs measured using 3He Magnetic Resonance (3He-MR) imaging is compared with that determined by micro-Computed Tomography (micro-CT) and xenon-enhanced micro-CT (Xe-CT) in normal rats. The upper-limit and absolute volumes obtained from He-MR and air-CT methods were not significantly different (P>0.05). Also, no significant difference was found between the volumes measured from He-MR and Xe-CT methods (P>0.05). The good agreement between the volumes measured from He-MR and air-CT suggests that He MR imaging can be used for quantitative analysis of lung volume changes in longitudinal studies without the exposure to ionizing radiation. Further, the good agreement between the ventilated volumes measured by the He-MR and Xe-CT in normal rats confirms the capability of He-MR imaging for depicting the ventilated lung volume changes associated with animal models of obstructive pulmonary diseases in future.

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