Functional magnetic resonance imaging of the lung.

Limited imaging of lung function is possible with methods that use ionizing radiation, such as computed tomography (CT) and lung scintigraphy. Methods using magnetic resonance (MR) are preferable because they do not involve ionizing radiation. At ®rst, MR methods were dif®cult because of the lack of protons and artefacts caused by inhomogeneity in the lungs. Recently, new techniques have allowed static and dynamic lung imaging with MR. We discuss the methods that allow functional imaging of the lung and describe new developments in functional MR imaging (MRI). From being almost invisible to MRI, lung images with MR may soon radically affect the way we assess the function of the lung and the pulmonary circulation.