Dec. 9, 2025
Photo by MU Health Care
A University of Missouri researcher recently received a $1.8 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to study whether the same hyper-responsiveness that triggers airway inflammation in asthma also constricts the lung’s blood vessels.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines rely on the water in human bodies to create clear scans, but this becomes an issue when trying to scan for asthma in the lungs, which are full of air rather than water. But the machines can be programmed to detect xenon gas for respiratory illnesses.
“This is an old hypothesis in asthma studies, but historically, there wasn’t a viable way to measure regional hyper-responsive blood vessels or to see this on a scan,” said Robert Thomen, an associate professor of radiology and bioengineering at Mizzou’s School of Medicine and the College of Engineering. “A hyperpolarized xenon gas MRI may change that.”
When inhaled, non-reactive xenon gas serves as a bright, trackable signal that shows the flow of breathing into the lung tissue and the bloodstream. By following its path, researchers can see how well different regions of the lung exchange gases and identify signs of abnormal vascular responses that may contribute to asthma.
“It gives doctors a better understanding of how the lungs function and helps with creating a better, tailored treatment plan for the patient,” Thomen said.
The grant will fund the scans of healthy patients and patients with varying severities of asthma. If Thomen and his team can produce clear images of asthmatic breathing and gas exchange, it can help develop new, targeted asthma treatments.
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