People with chronic lung disease and asthma could soon be offered better treatment thanks to a new type of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan being pioneered at The University of Nottingham.
A purpose-built MRI research unit has been established to study a range of respiratory diseases. The unit is based at the Queens Medical Centre and will allow doctors to virtually 'see inside' the lungs of patients using a new, specifically-adapted MRI scanner.
The team of scientists and clinicians are working on a new technique using a specially-treated harmless gas which the patient is given to inhale. Unlike air, this gas shows up clearly on an MRI scan, giving an exquisitely-detailed picture of the lungs, their damaged and healthy areas. The new method also shows the gas being absorbed into the bloodstream. This will give doctors a clear idea of how well or badly the different parts of the lungs are transferring life-sustaining oxygen. The scans could also be used to guide treatment or to guide surgeons performing lung reduction operations.
The diseases to be studied using the new type of scan include asthma, lung fibrosis and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). These diseases are a major health burden: for example COPD is among the top five causes of death and disability in the UK with around a million sufferers. It is caused by inhalation of poisonous gases or particles, most commonly in smoking, although some working environments, e.g. coalmining, are also known triggers. COPD accounts for more time off work than any other illness and places a huge burden on the health service.
At present X-rays or CT scans are used to investigate lung diseases. But X-rays and CTs only show the structure of the lung and don't reveal any detail on how well the lungs are functioning. They also involve a small exposure to radiation which can limit repeat scanning.
The MRI imaging technique to be used in the trials will use a gas called Xenon 129. The Xenon is 'hyperpolarized' using lasers which make the gas particles detectable in the MR scanner. Whilst this approach has been tried previously using Helium 3, this gas is difficult to obtain and hence is unsuitable for routine clinical work. Xenon 129 is easy to obtain and thus has the potential to be used widely in the clinic.
The team of scientists and clinicians at the University has won around £3 million from a range of sources to fund the building of the tailor-made facility at the Queen's Medical Centre. It will also pay for clinical trials of the technique and to develop better hyperpolarisation equipment to supply the gas needed. A new member of staff, physicist Professor Thomas Meersman, has been appointed from Colorado State University to help lead the hyperpolarization research.
The project is being led by Professor Ian Hall in the medical school and Professor Peter Morris, Director of the Sir Peter Mansfield MRI Centre. Professor Hall said: "This research has huge implications for the treatment and monitoring of lung disease. We are very excited to be able to combine our world-renowned MRI knowledge with the clinical expertise at the Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham to try and develop hyperpolarized xenon MRI as the diagnostic and therapeutic monitoring tool of choice for lung-related diseases in the future."
The project has been jointly funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, GE Healthcare, the Medical Research Council, the Wolfson Foundation, East Midlands Development Agency and The University of Nottingham.
The Wolfson Foundation has also helped to fund infrastructure developments at the Sir Peter Mansfield Magnetic Resonance Centre on University Park to enable further research into improving the process of hyperpolarisation of Xenon 129 and also to investigate the use of other gases like Krypton. Other pioneering work at the centre is examining the hyperpolarisation of non-gaseous substances using dynamic nuclear polarisation (DNP) which could have important applications for the delivery and efficacy of drugs and medicines in clinical practice in the future.
Clinical trials on the use of hyperpolarized Xenon/MRI in healthy volunteers are planned to start in the next few months followed by trials involving patients with COPD and lung fibrosis. Anyone interested in volunteering for the trials can contact the research team on 0115 9709783.
In the photograph attached, from left to right, Professor Ian Hall, Dr Kevin Teh, Professor Peter Morris and Dr Mike Barlow.
Notes to Editors: The University of Nottingham is ranked in the UK's Top 10 and the World's Top 100 universities by the Shanghai Jiao Tong (SJTU) and Times Higher (THES) World University Rankings.
It provides innovative and top quality teaching, undertakes world-changing research, and attracts talented staff and students from 150 nations. Described by The Times as Britain's "only truly global university", it has invested continuously in award-winning campuses in the United Kingdom, China and Malaysia.
Twice since 2003 its research and teaching academics have won Nobel Prizes. The University has won the Queen's Award for Enterprise in both 2006 (International Trade) and 2007 (Innovation — School of Pharmacy).
Its students are much in demand from 'blue-chip' employers. Winners of Students in Free Enterprise for four years in succession, and current holder of UK Graduate of the Year, they are accomplished artists, scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs, innovators and fundraisers. Nottingham graduates consistently excel in business, the media, the arts and sport. Undergraduate and postgraduate degree completion rates are amongst the highest in the United Kingdom.