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The Functional and Metabolic Imaging Group (FMIG) focuses on developing novel hyperpolarized MRI techniques for the diagnosis and monitoring of a variety of pulmonary and metabolic disorders. Specifically, the FMIG’s research activities can be divided into three general branches:

  1. The development of novel hyperpolarized gas (3He and 129Xe) MR imaging techniques for the quantitative assessment of pulmonary structure and function. 

  2. The development of real-time metabolic imaging techniques to investigate the use of hyperpolarized 13C-labeled metabolites (e.g. [1-13C]pyruvate) to assess lung perfusion and pulmonary pH, as well as to detect aberrant metabolism, which is a key pathological indication for a number of disease states, including lung transplant rejection and cancer. 

  3. The development and implementation of rapid imaging pulse sequences to optimize hyperpolarized MRI data acquisition.