Pulmonary MRI Using Ultra Short /Zero TE Sequences

Modern imaging modalities, especially magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have greatly advanced in recent years. Through technical advances, proton-based magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has steadily increased in use to assess pulmonary structures in the pediatric population especially in Europe. Such technical developments have advanced by overcoming rapid decaying of transverse relaxation time and cardiac/chest movement synchronization, showing MRI to be feasible with respect to morphological and functional assessment of pulmonary impairment, in chronic lung disease such as cystic fibrosis for disease progression and prediction of exacerbation. However pulmonary imaging with MRI has also been feasible to detect pulmonary nodules in malignancies (allowing for spatial resolution).

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Image
• Intervention / Treatment: Device: MRI sequences

Detailed Description

This prospective study will enable developing/ fine tuning for an optimized ultra-short echo/zero echo MRI sequence to enable pulmonary imaging with assessment of detailed lung structures which is important in patient with chronic lung disease. This will enable radiation sparing through x-ray and computed tomography, especially reduce the accumulation dose in long term follow up imaging of patients with chronic lung disease. Also, detailed pulmonary imaging enables more detailed imaging in comparison to the standard reference of care often using radiographs, can pick up disease prior to clinical symptoms, is a useful tool to assess treatment outcome and can sometimes even prevent chronic changes by early disease diagnosis and rapid treatment. This is of particular interest in patients with chronic lung disease, such as cystic fibrosis, but also other congenital lung diseases such as congenital pulmonary airway malformation (CPAM) or malignant diseases which will otherwise have a second CT imaging to assess the lung.

The investigators will recruit healthy volunteers to assess the available MR sequences on the 1.5 T MRI scanner at the IWK health Centre in the Department of Diagnostic Imaging and either fine tune/modify the existing protocol with the help of the MRI technologist and application specialists or build a new sequence according to the most recent literature. The aim is to recruit 15 patients of different age group (aged 3- 18 years old) to assure a robust imaging protocol for all age groups. Especially, the preschool age group can be more challenging due to increased cardiac and respiratory motion, but also the understanding of the diagnostic imaging with guidance of the in house child life support as well as parental guidance and support, the possibility to watch a video on the MRI scanner to distract the patient as best as possible since the aim is to conduct the short pulmonary MRI protocol without the need for sedation.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 15
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Canada
  • Nova Scotia
    • Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, B3K 6R8
      • IWK Health Centre

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child; Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Healthy participants (without prior history of pulmonary disease)
• Ages 3 - 18 years old

Exclusion Criteria:

• prior history of pulmonary disease
• implants
• surgeries
• pregnancy
• metal devices
• braces
• anything that would exclude them from taking an MRI

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Diagnostic
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Other: MRI sequence; patients receive an MRI	Device: MRI sequences; Ultra short / zero TE sequence on MRI being tested on healthy patients and improved by manually fine tuning the sequence

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Image Quality	Imaging acquisition with and without breath hold is being tested and ultimately reconstruction of the acquired imaging. It will be assessed if the imaging is going to be of clinical and diagnostic standard by an experienced pediatric and pulmonary radiologist who has worked with ultra-short/zero TE sequences in clinical routine before. Here by imaging will be assessed looking at overall quality, signal, movement artifact of heart and breathing. Feasibility of preschool children to undergo imaging protocol in terms of protocol length, breathing maneuvers, general tolerability.	Image acquisition in November will undergo immediate assessment to potentially enhance imaging quality. Images will then be promptly reviewed on PACS after acquisition and post-trial termination, with parameters compared for an optimal sequence protocol.
Acquisition Time	The image acquisition is meant to take place in November and imaging will be assessed at the time of acquisition so that alteration of imaging parameters might improve imaging overall. The images itself will again be viewed on PACS shortly after acquisition and after termination of the trial imaging acquisition. Parameters will be compared to elaborate the best possible sequence protocol.	Volunteers get a call for MRI details. After 3 days, if they agree, we set imaging appointments. The PI and tech clarify, perform imaging, confirm post-exam well-being, and have a brief follow-up chat.

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: IWK Health Centre
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Mareen Kraus, MD, IWK Health Centre

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): December 1, 2023
• Primary Completion (Actual): March 20, 2024
• Study Completion (Actual): October 1, 2024

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: October 13, 2023
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 19, 2023
• First Posted (Actual): October 24, 2023

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): May 14, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 9, 2025
• Last Verified: October 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Sequences
• Other Study ID Numbers: 1029785

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No