Preclinical MRI to quantify pulmonary disease severity and trajectories in poorly characterized mouse models: A pedagogical example using data from novel transgenic models of lung fibrosis

•Lung disease was assessed in novel mouse models based on loss-of-function mutations in surfactant protein-C.•Fibrotic remodeling was captured longitudinally in transgenic mice out 255 days using retrospectively gated UTE MRI analysis pipeline.•Retrospective gating generated expiratory and inspiratory images from a single free-breathing data set.•Deep-learning segmentation reduced image analysis time ~ 200-fold.•Semi-automated image analysis pipeline will be applicable to a wide range of lung disease models.