Translation of hyperpolarized [13C,15N2]urea MRI for novel human brain perfusion studies

作者：Yaewon Kim, Hsin-Yu Chen, Tanner Nickles, Illia Shkliar, Duy Dang, James Slater, Charlie Wang, Jeremy W. Gordon, Chou T. Tan, Chris Suszczynski, Sri Maddali, Adam Gaunt, Rui Chen, Javier Villanueva‐Meyer, Duan Xu, Peder E. Z. Larson, John Kurhanewicz, Robert Bok, Susan M. Chang, Daniel B. Vigneron · 发表于：npj Imaging · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1038/s44303-025-00073-3 · 被引用次数：6 · 研究领域：Advanced NMR Techniques and Applications、Advanced MRI Techniques and Applications、Electron Spin Resonance Studies

Abstract This study developed a new approach to produce sterile, hyperpolarized [ 13 C, 15 N 2 ]urea as a novel molecular imaging probe and applied it for first-ever healthy brain volunteer studies. Hyperpolarized [ 13 C, 15 N 2 ]urea, as a small, metabolically inert molecule, offers significant advantages for perfusion imaging due to its endogenous nature and excellent safety profile. The developed methods achieved a hyperpolarized [ 13 C, 15 N 2 ]urea solution (132 ± 6 mM) with 27.4 ± 5.6% polarization and a T 1 = 50.4 ± 0.2 s. In healthy brain volunteer studies, high-resolution 13 C imaging captured blood flow with a spatial resolution of 7.76 × 7.76 × 15 (or 10) mm 3 over ~1 min following hyperpolarized [ 13 C, 15 N 2 ]urea injection, visualizing detailed vascular structures. Time-to-peak and centroid analyses showed consistent arterial and venous signal patterns across subjects. Findings suggest hyperpolarized [ 13 C, 15 N 2 ]urea may have applications beyond brain imaging, including the non-invasive perfusion assessment in various organs, cancer microenvironment, and renal function, paving the way for clinical translation.