Breathing new life into asthma imaging: can noble gas MRI reveal hidden lung damage?
NCT ID NCT02351141
First seen Jul 31, 2026 · Last updated Jul 31, 2026
Summary
This study is testing whether a special type of MRI, using inhaled noble gases like helium or xenon, can provide detailed images of lung structure and function in people with asthma. Researchers will scan 200 adults with asthma to measure how well air moves through the airways and into air sacs. The goal is to see if this imaging technique can offer a more complete picture of asthma's effects on the lungs than standard tests.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Hyperpolarized noble gas MRI (Helium-3 and/or Xenon-129)
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this imaging method could offer a new way to see how asthma affects the lungs, potentially improving diagnosis and treatment monitoring.
- What could go wrong
- This is an observational imaging study, not a treatment trial, so it won't directly change patient care. The technique may not prove superior to existing methods like CT.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 200 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Jan 2015
- Expected to finish
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Dec 2030
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 to 60 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Subjects male and female aged 18-60 with a clinical diagnosis of asthma * Smoking history ≤ 1 pack/year * Subject understands the study procedures and is willing to participate in the study as indicated by signature on the informed consent * Subject is judged to be in otherwise stable health on the basis of medical history * Subject able to perform reproducible pulmonary function testing (i.e., the 3 best acceptable spirograms have FEV1 values that do not vary more than 5% of the largest value or more than 100 ml, whichever is greater.) * FEV1 \>60% predicted Exclusion Criteria: * Patient is, in the opinion of the investigator, mentally or legally incapacitated, preventing informed consent from being obtained, or cannot read or understand the written material * Patient is unable to perform spirometry or plethysmography maneuvers * Subject has an implanted mechanically, electrically or magnetically activated device or any metal in their body which cannot be removed, including but not limited to pacemakers, neurostimulators, biostimulators, implanted insulin pumps, aneurysm clips, bioprosthesis, artificial limb, metallic fragment or foreign body, shunt, surgical staples (including clips or metallic sutures and/or ear implants.) (At the discretion of the MRI Technologist/3T Manager) * In the investigator's opinion, subject suffers from any physical, psychological or other condition(s) that might prevent performance of the MRI, such as severe claustrophobia. * Patient is pregnant
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Robarts Research Institute; The University of Western Ontario; London Health Sciences Centre
RECRUITINGLondon, Ontario, N6A 5B7, Canada
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