Improved method of quantitative magnetic resonance lung imaging using ventilation-weighted Fourier decomposition
Challenge
Magnetic resonance tomography (MRT) based lung imaging using Fourier decomposition (FD) is applied to generate ventilation-weighted images of the lung without the need of any contrast agent. Although the procedure of consecutive registration, filtering, and quantification is well established the conventional methods suffer from limitations in signal to noise ratio (SNR) and can reliably be used with healthy subjects only.
Technology
The novel technology comprises an improved method to create quantitative ventilation maps of the lung with increased sensitivity and reproducibility. The enhancement of multiple sub-processes of MRT image processing includes stepwise registration, adjustment of frequency determination to pathological situations, two-step frequency filtering, and quantification by using scaled fractional ventilation values. The combination hereof results in quantitative medical lung imaging for various applications of unprecedented quality.
Commercial Opportunity
The technology is available for non-exclusive licensing.
Development Status
The technology has been successfully evaluated for different disease models in a clinical setting.
Patent Situation
US patent (US 10,010,293 B2) and European patent (EP3107066 B1, validated in Germany, DE602015061758) have been granted.