Hyperpolarized Xenon-129 Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Functional Lung Microstructure

Hyperpolarized 129Xe (HXe) is a non-invasive contrast agent for lung magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which upon inhalation follows the functional pathway of oxygen in the lung by dissolving into lung tissue structures and entering the blood stream. HXe MRI therefore provides unique opportunities for functional lung imaging of gas exchange which occurs from alveolar air spaces across the air-blood boundary into parenchymal tissue. However challenges in acquisition speed and signal-to-noise ratio have limited the development of a HXe imaging biomarker to diagnose lung disease. This thesis addresses these challenges by introducing parallel imaging to HXe MRI. Parallel imaging requires dedicated hardware. This work describes design, implementation, and characterization of a 32-channel phased-array chest receive coil with an integrated asymmetric birdcage transmit coil tuned to the HXe resonance on a 3 Tesla MRI system. Using the newly developed human chest coil, a functional HXe imaging method, multiple exchange time xenon magnetization transfer contrast (MXTC) is implemented. MXTC dynamically encodes HXe gas exchange into the image contrast. This permits two parameters to be derived regionally which are related to gas-exchange functionality by characterizing tissue-to-alveolar-volume ratio and alveolar wall thickness in the lung parenchyma. Initial results in healthy subjects demonstrate the sensitivity of MXTC by quantifying the subtle changes in lung microstructure in response to orientation and lung inflation. Our results in subjects with lung disease show that the MXTC-derived functional tissue density parameter exhibits excellent agreement with established imaging techniques. The newly developed dynamic parameter, which characterizes the alveolar wall, was elevated in subjects with lung disease, most likely indicating parenchymal inflammation. In light of these observations we believe that MXTC has potential as a biomarker for the regional quantification of 1) emphysematous tissue destruction in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (using the tissue density parameter) and 2) parenchymal inflammation or thickening (using the wall thickness parameter). By simultaneously quantifying two lung function parameters, MXTC provides a more comprehensive picture of lung microstructure than existing lung imaging techniques and could become an important non-invasive and quantitative tool to characterize pulmonary disease

Interstitial null-distance time-domain diffuse optical spectroscopy using a superconducting nanowire detector

Significance: Interstitial fiber-based spectroscopy is gaining interest for real-time in vivo optical biopsies, endoscopic interventions, and local monitoring of therapy. Different from other photonics approaches, time-domain diffuse optical spectroscopy (TD-DOS) can probe the tissue at a few cm distance from the fiber tip and disentangle absorption from the scattering properties. Nevertheless, the signal detected at a short distance from the source is strongly dominated by the photons arriving early at the detector, thus hampering the possibility of resolving late photons, which are rich in information about depth and absorption. Aim: To fully benefit from the null-distance approach, a detector with an extremely high dynamic range is required to effectively collect the late photons; the goal of our paper is to test its feasibility to perform TD-DOS measurements at null source-detector separations (NSDS). Approach: In particular, we demonstrate the use of a superconducting nanowire single photon detector (SNSPD) to perform TD-DOS at almost NSDS formula presented by exploiting the high dynamic range and temporal resolution of the SNSPD to extract late arriving, deep-traveling photons from the burst of early photons. Results: This approach was demonstrated both on Monte Carlo simulations and on phantom measurements, achieving an accuracy in the retrieval of the water spectrum of better than 15%, spanning almost two decades of absorption change in the 700- to 1100-nm range. Additionally, we show that, for interstitial measurements at null source-detector distance, the scattering coefficient has a negligible effect on late photons, easing the retrieval of the absorption coefficient. Conclusions: Utilizing the SNSPD, broadband TD-DOS measurements were performed to successfully retrieve the absorption spectra of the liquid phantoms. Although the SNSPD has certain drawbacks for use in a clinical system, it is an emerging field with research progressing rapidly, and this makes the SNSPD a viable option and a good solution for future research in needle guided time-domain interstitial fiber spectroscopy

Tailoring enhanced optical chirality : design principles for chiral plasmonic nanostructures

Electromagnetic fields with strong optical chirality can be formed in the near-field of chiral plasmonic nanostructures. We calculate and visualize the degree of chirality to identify regions with relatively high values. This leads to design principles for a simple utilization of chiral fields. We investigate planar geometries which offer a convenient way to access the designated fields as well as three-dimensional nanostructures which show a very high local optical chirality

Emission properties of an oscillating point dipole from a gold Yagi-Uda nanoantenna array

We investigate numerically the interaction of an oscillating point dipole with a periodic array of optical Yagi-Uda nanoantennas in the weak coupling limit. A very strong near-field enhancement of the dipole emission by the resonant plasmon mode in the feed element is predicted in this structure. It is shown that the enhancement strength depends strongly on the dipole position, the direction of the dipole moment, and the oscillation frequency. The radiative intensity of the point dipole from appropriate places next to one feed element may exceed the radiative intensity of an equivalent dipole in free-space by a factor of hundred. In spite of only one director used in each nanoantenna of the array, the far-field emission pattern is highly directed. The radiative efficiency (the ratio of the radiative to the full emission) appears to be around 20%.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure

Multifrequency broadband tapered plasmonic nanoantennas

We suggest a novel multifrequency broadband plasmonic Yagi-Uda-type nanoantenna equipped with an array of tapered directors. Each director can be used for the excitation of the antenna by nanoemitters matched spectrally with the director resonant frequency and placed in the director near-field region. Multifrequency op- eration of nanoantennas provides tremendous opportunities for broadband emission enhancement, spectroscopy and sensing. By the principle of reciprocity, the same tapered nanoantenna architecture can be used both as a transmitter and/or as a receiver, thus being useful for creating a broadband wireless communication system

Ultra-broadband Light Absorption by a Sawtooth Anisotropic Metamaterial Slab

We present an ultra broadband thin-film infrared absorber made of saw-toothed anisotropic metamaterial. Absorbtivity of higher than 95% at normal incidence is supported in a wide range of frequencies, where the full absorption width at half maximum is about 86%. Such property is retained well at a very wide range of incident angles too. Light of shorter wavelengths are harvested at upper parts of the sawteeth of smaller widths, while light of longer wavelengths are trapped at lower parts of larger tooth widths. This phenomenon is explained by the slowlight modes in anisotropic metamaterial waveguide. Our study can be applied in the field of designing photovoltaic devices and thermal emitters.Comment: 12 pages, 4 picture

Treatment response of ethyl pyruvate in a mouse model of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease studied by hyperpolarized129Xe MRI

Purpose The purpose of this work was to investigate disease progression and treatment response in a murine model of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) using a preclinical hyperpolarized 129Xe (HPXe) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) strategy. Methods COPD phenotypes were induced in 32 mice by 10 weeks of exposure to cigarette smoke (CS) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Efficacy of ethyl pyruvate (EP), an anti‐inflammatory drug, was investigated by administering EP to 16 of the 32 mice after 6 weeks of CS and LPS exposure. HPXe MRI was performed to monitor changes in pulmonary function during disease progression and pharmacological therapy. Results HPXe metrics of fractional ventilation and gas‐exchange function were significantly reduced after 6 weeks of CS and LPS exposure compared to sham‐instilled mice administered with saline (P < 0.05). After this observation, EP administration was started in 16 of the 32 mice and continued for 4 weeks. EP was found to improve HPXe MRI metrics to a similar level as in sham‐instilled mice (P < 0.01). Histological analysis showed significant alveolar tissue destruction in the COPD group, but relatively normal alveolar structure in the EP and sham‐instilled groups. Conclusion This study demonstrates the potential efficacy of EP for COPD therapy, as assessed by a noninvasive, translatable 129Xe MRI procedure. Magn Reson Med 78:721–729, 2017. © 2016 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicin

Waveguide-plasmon polaritons enhance transverse magneto-optical Kerr effect

Magneto-optical effects in ferrimagnetic or ferromagnetic materials are usually too weak for potential applications. The transverse magneto-optical Kerr effect (TMOKE) in ferromagnetic films is typically on the order of 0.1%. Here, we demonstrate experimentally the enhancement of TMOKE due to the interaction of particle plasmons in gold nanowires with a photonic waveguide consisting of magneto- optical material, where hybrid waveguide-plasmon polaritons are excited. We achieve a large TMOKE that modulates the transmitted light intensity by 1.5%, accompanied by high transparency of the system. Our concept may lead to novel devices of miniaturized photonic circuits and switches, which are controllable by an external magnetic field

Comparative study of in situ N2 rotational Raman spectroscopy methods for probing energy thermalisation processes during spin-exchange optical pumping

Spin-exchange optical pumping (SEOP) has been widely used to produce enhancements in nuclear spin polarisation for hyperpolarised noble gases. However, some key fundamental physical processes underlying SEOP remain poorly understood, particularly in regards to how pump laser energy absorbed during SEOP is thermalised, distributed and dissipated. This study uses in situ ultra-low frequency Raman spectroscopy to probe rotational temperatures of nitrogen buffer gas during optical pumping under conditions of high resonant laser flux and binary Xe/N2 gas mixtures. We compare two methods of collecting the Raman scattering signal from the SEOP cell: a conventional orthogonal arrangement combining intrinsic spatial filtering with the utilisation of the internal baffles of the Raman spectrometer, eliminating probe laser light and Rayleigh scattering, versus a new in-line modular design that uses ultra-narrowband notch filters to remove such unwanted contributions. We report a ~23-fold improvement in detection sensitivity using the in-line module, which leads to faster data acquisition and more accurate real-time monitoring of energy transport processes during optical pumping. The utility of this approach is demonstrated via measurements of the local internal gas temperature (which can greatly exceed the externally measured temperature) as a function of incident laser power and position within the cell