Evaluation of injuries caused by coronavirus disease 2019 using multi-nuclei magnetic resonance imaging

Abstract

The ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been a great burden for the healthcare system in many countries because of its high transmissibility, severity, and fatality. Chest radiography and computed tomography (CT) play a vital role in the diagnosis, detection of complications, and prognostication of COVID-19. Additionally, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), especially multi-nuclei MRI, is another important imaging technique for disease diagnosis because of its good soft tissue contrast and the ability to conduct structural and functional imaging, which has also been used to evaluate COVID-19-related organ injuries in previous studies. Herein, we briefly reviewed the recent research on multi-nuclei MRI for evaluating injuries caused by COVID-19 and the clinical ¹H MRI techniques and their applications for assessing injuries in lungs, brain, and heart. Moreover, the emerging hyperpolarized ¹²⁹Xe gas MRI and its applications in the evaluation of pulmonary structures and functional abnormalities caused by COVID-19 were also reviewed.

Keywords: Brain; COVID-19; Heart; Hyperpolarized 129Xe; Lung; MRI; Multi-nuclei.

Graphical abstract

Fig. 1

Typical chest computed tomographic images of recovering and discharged patients. Reproduced with permission [14].

Fig. 2

Representative CT and UTE-MR images of a female patient with coronavirus disease 2019. Reproduced with permission [23]. CT, computed tomography; UTE, ultrashort echo time; MR, magnetic resonance.

Fig. 3

(A) T₂-weighted and (B) susceptibility-weighted brain images of a patient with acute necrotizing encephalopathy on day 6. Reproduced with permission [34].

Fig. 4

Cardiac magnetic resonance findings of a male patient at 6 months after the diagnosis of severe coronavirus disease pneumonia. Reproduced with permission [39].

Fig. 5

Hyperpolarized ¹²⁹Xe gas magnetic resonance imaging/spectroscopy (MRS) results of a healthy subject and a discharged patient with coronavirus disease 2019. Reproduced with permission [48].