Having new eyes: MRI for visualisation of pulmonary vascular disease and prediction of bronchopulmonary dysplasia severity

Extract Marcel Proust wrote that "the real voyage of discovery... consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes [1]." Indeed, our ability to noninvasively visualise the structure and function of human tissues has rapidly evolved. 130 years after Nikola Tesla described the first rotational magnetic field, modern magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has transformed the ability to "see" the inner structures of human organs without having to surgically dissect them [2]. Innovative MRI protocols now allow for functional cardiac assessment and quantification of flow through the pulmonary circulation [3]. The study reported by Häfner et al. [4] in this issue of the European Respiratory Journal leverages this technology to develop a predictive model for pulmonary vascular disease (PVD) risk stratification of infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) and validates this model in patients via echocardiography through the early years of life.
Source: European Respiratory Journal - Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Tags: Editorials Source Type: research