The CCIR and MIR have considerable current and evolving collaborations in the field of pulmonary research focusing on both adult and pediatric populations.  These research and technology development programs are extensive, including areas such as: vascular disease and malformation; pulmonary perfusion; lung transplantation; emphysema/asthma; cystic fibrosis; and, other obstructive airway diseases. Other research efforts include areas like: the development of novel therapeutic agents for pulmonary hypertension; refinement screening capabilities for the early detection of lung cancer; sleep disorders; and, contributions made to understanding the benefits related to lung volume reduction surgery.

Among many of these efforts, the development of new, quantitative imaging techniques (CT, MR and PET) has been a primary focus of the research efforts.  One interesting area of study is MR imaging of lungs using hyperpolarized 3He gas, which helps determine lung anatomy, ventilation properties, and structure/function relationships. Other methods, like functional MRI which evaluates how NMR signals are effected by oxygenated blood in vessel networks, relate experimental observations to physiology and disease. Another exciting area is the use of PET imaging to study pulmonary vascular disease, function and transgene expression in lung tissue. These and many other advances are made possible by the development of new, improved hardware, radiopharmaceuticals and computing capabilities. Many of these applications also can be used in imaging studies of small animals, such as mice and rats.

With the combined efforts of our imaging and pulmonology experts, we hope to contribute to a health-care delivery system that better understands the biologic, functional and genetic determinants of pulmonary disease, so that we can truly improve healthcare and patient outcomes in pulmonary medicine.