We are pleased to share that a recent study from the Sohn Lab has been accepted for publication in Radiology Advances. This work reflects our lab’s ongoing interest in better understanding how emerging MRI technologies perform in real clinical settings. As mid field MRI at 0.55T gains attention for pulmonary imaging due to reduced susceptibility artifacts, the study aimed to explore which technical and patient related factors are associated with image quality variability. In a prospective cohort of adults with a range of pulmonary diseases, participants underwent same day lung MRI using respiratory triggered T2 weighted BLADE and T1 weighted UTE sequences, with overall image quality independently graded by six radiologists and paired with quantitative respiratory and clinical measures.
The study was a collaborative effort within the Sohn Lab, with key contributions from three lab members, fourth year medical students Richard (Brandon) Schonour, BS, Felicia I Tang, BA, BS, Kiara A Bowers, BS, and additional coauthors including Pan Su, PhD, Michael A Ohliger, MD, PhD , Yoo Jin Lee, MD., Jonathan A Liu, MD, Peder E Z Larson, PhD, Yang Yang, PhD, Jae Ho Sohn, MD, MS.
The authors found that higher BMI, fibrotic interstitial lung disease, and deeper or longer breathing patterns were associated with lower image quality, while respiratory rate and body surface area were not significantly related. By examining these associations in a systematic way, the study offers early insight into how patient physiology and disease characteristics may influence respiratory triggered 0.55T lung MRI performance. We hope this work contributes to the broader conversation around optimizing pulmonary MRI protocols and informs future studies as experience with mid field imaging continues to grow (Schonour et al., 2025).
Look out for this work in the upcoming issue of Radiology Advances!
Schonour, R. B., Tang, F. I., Bowers, K. A., Su, P., Ohliger, M. A., Lee, Y. J., Liu, J. A., Larson, P. E. Z., Yang, Y., & Sohn, J. H. (2025). Determinants of image quality in respiratory triggered free breathing lung MRI at 0.55T in adults. Radiology Advances. https://doi.org/10.1093/radadv/umag001