Academic radiology
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Hyperpolarized (3)He magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) previously revealed the temporal and spatial heterogeneity of ventilation defects in asthmatics, but these findings have not been used in treatment studies or to guide personalized therapy. Our objective was to exploit the temporal and spatial information inherent to (3)He MRI and develop image processing methods to generate pulmonary ventilation temporal-spatial maps that could be used to measure, optimize, and guide asthma therapy. ⋯ Temporal-spatial pulmonary maps generated from (3)He MRI can be used to quantify temporally persistent and intermittent ventilation defects as asthma intermediate end points and targets for therapy.