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To assess the feasibility and optimize the accuracy of the multibreath wash-in hyperpolarized helium 3 (³He) approach to ventilation measurement by using magnetic resonance (MR) imaging as well as to examine the physiologic differences that this approach reveals among nonsmokers, asymptomatic smokers, and patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

All experiments were approved by the local institutional review board and compliant with HIPAA. Informed consent was obtained from all subjects. To measure fractional ventilation, the authors administered a series of identical normoxic hyperpolarized gas breaths to the subject; after each inspiration, an image was acquired …