Multinuclear Lung MRI Assessment of COVID-19 Patients at 6 and 12 Weeks after Hospital Admission

This work uses a multinuclear 1 H and 129 Xe protocol to assess pathophysiological changes in patients with COVID-19 pneumonia, without signs of interstitial lung disease, at 6 and 12 weeks after hospital admission. 1 H and 129 Xe protocol: ultra-short echo time, dynamic contrast enhanced lung perfusion, 129 Xe lung ventilation, 129 Xe diffusion weighted MRI, 129 Xe 3D spectroscopic imaging. Though significant improvements in lung ventilation homogeneity (decreased low ventilation percentage and ventilation coefficient of variation), gas transfer (increased RBC:TP, decreased TP T 2 * ) and perfusion (increased pulmonary blood volume and flow) were seen between 6 and 12 weeks, low RBC:TP ratio persisted for some patients.