Dr Graham Norquay
Clinical Medicine, School of Medicine and Population Health
Lecturer in Magnetic Resonance Physics


+44 114 215 9148
Full contact details
Clinical Medicine, School of Medicine and Population Health
Office 19F
Polaris
18 Claremont Crescent
Sheffield
S10 2TA
- Profile
-
For enquiries, please contact – iicd-om-operational@sheffield.ac.uk
After graduating in Physics from the University of Glasgow (2004-2007), I completed an MSc in Medical Physics at the University of Surrey (2008-2009) and a PhD in Magnetic Resonance Physics at the University of Sheffield (2010-2014).
During my postdoctoral posts – Postdoctoral Research Associate (2014-2016) and Senior Research Fellow (2016-2018) – at the University of Sheffield, I set up a lab within the POLARIS group dedicated to the hyperpolarisation of 129Xe gas for human magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) applications.
I was appointed Lecturer in Magnetic Resonance Physics in 2018.
- Research interests
-
My research interests are the physics of spin-exchange optical pumping (SEOP) – a technique which can be used to dramatically (105-fold) enhance the nuclear magnetisation of the noble gases 3He and 129Xe – and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) applications of hyperpolarised 129Xe in biological systems.
My recent work on large-scale 129Xe-Rb spin-exchange optical pumping has made significant clinical impact by helping enable the first clinical studies in the UK with hyperpolarised 129Xe gas MRI, which has so far been utilised in the clinical evaluation of lung diseases such as Cystic Fibrosis, COPD, Asthma, Interstitial Lung Disease and Pulmonary Hypertension.
Current projects:
- Hyperpolarised 129Xe MRI as a probe for tissue oxygenation in humans.
- NMR dynamics of xenon gas in the cardiopulmonary system.
- Large-scale physics of 129Xe-rubidium spin-exchange optical pumping for clinical applications.
- Portable 129Xe polariser for multicentre dissemination of hyperpolarised 129Xe technology.
- 129Xe gas recycling collaboration with Linde gases.
- Publications
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Show: Featured publications All publications
Featured publications
Journal articles
- Assessment of brain perfusion using hyperpolarized 129Xe MRI in a subject with established stroke.. Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging. View this article in WRRO
- 129 Xe-Rb Spin-Exchange Optical Pumping with High Photon Efficiency. Physical Review Letters, 121(15). View this article in WRRO
- Imaging Human Brain Perfusion with Inhaled Hyperpolarized (129)Xe MR Imaging.. Radiology, 286(2). View this article in WRRO
- 129 Xe chemical shift in human blood and pulmonary blood oxygenation measurement in humans using hyperpolarized 129 Xe NMR. Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, 77(4), 1399-1408. View this article in WRRO
- Feasibility of human lung ventilation imaging using highly polarized naturally abundant xenon and optimized three-dimensional steady-state free precession. Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, 74(2), 346-352. View this article in WRRO
- Relaxation and exchange dynamics of hyperpolarized129Xe in human blood. Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, 74(2), 303-311.
- Radiofrequency pulse design for the selective excitation of dissolved129Xe. Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, 73(1), 21-30.
- Optimized production of hyperpolarized 129Xe at 2 bars for in vivo lung magnetic resonance imaging. Journal of Applied Physics, 113(4), 044908-044908.
All publications
Journal articles
- PhysVENeT: a physiologically-informed deep learning-based framework for the synthesis of 3D hyperpolarized gas MRI ventilation. Scientific Reports, 13.
- Longitudinal lung function assessment of patients hospitalised with COVID-19 using 1H and 129Xe lung MRI. Chest.
- Image phenotyping of preterm-born children using hyperpolarised 129Xe lung MRI and multiple-breath washout. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. View this article in WRRO
- Nichtinvasive funktionelle Lungenbildgebung mit hyperpolarisiertem Xenon. Die Radiologie, 62(6), 475-485.
- Airspace Dimension Assessment (AiDA) by inhaled nanoparticles: benchmarking with hyperpolarised 129Xe diffusion-weighted lung MRI. Scientific Reports, 11(1).
- In vivo methods and applications of xenon-129 magnetic resonance. Progress in Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy, 122, 42-62. View this article in WRRO
- MR properties of 19 F C3 F8 gas in the lungs of healthy volunteers:
T
2
∗
and apparent diffusion coefficient at 1.5T and
T
2
∗
at 3T.. Magn Reson Med.
- Dissolved hyperpolarized xenon‐129 MRI in human kidneys. Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, 83(1), 262-270. View this article in WRRO
- Hyperpolarised xenon magnetic resonance spectroscopy for the longitudinal assessment of changes in gas diffusion in IPF. Thorax, 74(5), 500-502. View this article in WRRO
- Single breath-held acquisition of co-registered 3D 129Xe lung ventilation and anatomical proton images of the human lung with compressed sensing. Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. View this article in WRRO
- Assessment of brain perfusion using hyperpolarized 129Xe MRI in a subject with established stroke.. Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging. View this article in WRRO
- Imaging Collateral Ventilation in Patients With Advanced Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Relative Sensitivity of
3
He and
129
Xe MRI. Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, 49(4), 1195-1197. View this article in WRRO
- Spatial Comparison of CT-Based Surrogates of Lung Ventilation With Hyperpolarized Helium-3 and Xenon-129 Gas MRI in Patients Undergoing Radiation Therapy. International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics, 102(4), 1276-1286. View this article in WRRO
- Assessment of the influence of lung inflation state on the quantitative parameters derived from hyperpolarized gas lung ventilation MRI in healthy volunteers.. Journal of Applied Physiology. View this article in WRRO
- 129 Xe-Rb Spin-Exchange Optical Pumping with High Photon Efficiency. Physical Review Letters, 121(15). View this article in WRRO
- Imaging Lung Function Abnormalities in Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia Using Hyperpolarized Gas Ventilation MRI. Annals of the American Thoracic Society, 15(12), 1487-1490. View this article in WRRO
- Comparison of 3
He and 129
Xe MRI for evaluation of lung microstructure and ventilation at 1.5T. Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, 48(3), 632-642. View this article in WRRO
- 3D diffusion-weighted 129
Xe MRI for whole lung morphometry. Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, 79(6), 2986-2995. View this article in WRRO
- Imaging Human Brain Perfusion with Inhaled Hyperpolarized (129)Xe MR Imaging.. Radiology, 286(2). View this article in WRRO
- 129 Xe chemical shift in human blood and pulmonary blood oxygenation measurement in humans using hyperpolarized 129 Xe NMR. Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, 77(4), 1399-1408. View this article in WRRO
- Detection of early subclinical lung disease in children with cystic fibrosis by lung ventilation imaging with hyperpolarised gas MRI. Thorax, 72(8), 760-762. View this article in WRRO
- Reproducibility of quantitative indices of lung function and microstructure from 129Xe chemical shift saturation recovery (CSSR) MR spectroscopy. Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. View this article in WRRO
- High resolution spectroscopy and chemical shift imaging of hyperpolarized 129Xe dissolved in the human brain in vivo at 1.5 tesla. Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, 75(6), 2227-2234. View this article in WRRO
- Feasibility of human lung ventilation imaging using highly polarized naturally abundant xenon and optimized three-dimensional steady-state free precession. Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, 74(2), 346-352. View this article in WRRO
- Relaxation and exchange dynamics of hyperpolarized129Xe in human blood. Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, 74(2), 303-311.
- Experimental validation of the hyperpolarized 129 Xe chemical shift saturation recovery technique in healthy volunteers and subjects with interstitial lung disease. Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, 74(1), 196-207. View this article in WRRO
- Radiofrequency pulse design for the selective excitation of dissolved129Xe. Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, 73(1), 21-30.
- Lung ventilation volumetry with same-breath acquisition of hyperpolarized gas and proton MRI. NMR in Biomedicine, 27(12), 1461-1467. View this article in WRRO
- Optimized production of hyperpolarized 129Xe at 2 bars for in vivo lung magnetic resonance imaging. Journal of Applied Physics, 113(4), 044908-044908.
- Simultaneous Imaging of Lung Structure and Function with Triple-Nuclear Hybrid MR Imaging. Radiology, 267(1), 251-255.
- Hyperpolarized129Xe gas lung MRI-SNR andT2*comparisons at 1.5 T and 3 T. Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, 68(6), 1900-1904.
- Hyperpolarised 129-Xenon Diffusion-weighted MRI for Assessing Lung Microstructure in IPF. ERJ Open Research, 00048-2023.
- Imaging gas‐exchange lung function and brain tissue uptake of hyperpolarized
129 Xe using sampling density‐weighted MRSI. Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. - Investigating Rubidium Density and Temperature Distributions in a High-Throughput 129Xe-Rb Spin-Exchange Optical Pumping Polarizer. Molecules, 28(1), 11-11.
- Nichtinvasive funktionelle Lungenbildgebung mit hyperpolarisiertem Xenon. Zeitschrift für Pneumologie.
- Standalone portable xenon-129 hyperpolariser for multicentre clinical magnetic resonance imaging of the lungs. The British Journal of Radiology.
- The assessment of short and long term changes in lung function in CF using 129Xe MRI. European Respiratory Journal, 2000441-2000441.
- Dissolved
129
Xe lung MRI with four‐echo 3D radial spectroscopic imaging: Quantification of regional gas transfer in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. View this article in WRRO
- Measuring
129
Xe transfer across the blood‐brain barrier using MR spectroscopy. Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. View this article in WRRO
Chapters
- Chapter 20. 129Xe Chemical Shift and Spin–Lattice Relaxation Dependences on Blood Oxygenation, Hyperpolarized Xenon-129 Magnetic Resonance (pp. 365-391). Royal Society of Chemistry
Conference proceedings papers
- Physiological assessment of patients with airways dysanapsis using 129Xe MRI. 09.01 - Respiratory function technologists/scientists
- Longitudinal lung function assessment of patients hospitalised with COVID-19 using 1H and 129Xe lung MRI. 14.02 - Imaging
- 129Xe-MRI and lung function to phenotype ventilation heterogeneity in asthma and/or COPD. 05.02 - Monitoring airway disease
- Physiological Phenotypes of Patients with Asthma and/or COPD Using 129Xe MRI. A99. LOOK AT THAT! NEW FINDINGS FROM LUNG IMAGING
- S75 Hyperpolarised 129-xenon MRI in differentiating between fibrotic and inflammatory interstitial lung disease and assessing longitudinal change. Basic science in ILD: what drives progression?
- Benchmarking inhaled nanoparticle measurements of airspace dimension with hyperpolarised 129Xe diffusion-weighted MRI. Imaging
- 1H and 129Xe MRI to detect functional and structural lung disease in sub-clinical cystic fibrosis. Cystic fibrosis
- Imaging functional and microstructural changes in the lungs of children born prematurely. Imaging
- Longitudinal change in hyperpolarised 129-xenon MR spectroscopy in interstitial lung disease. Imaging
- Clinical applicability of 3He and 129Xe ventilation MRI in cystic fibrosis: longitudinal follow up. Cystic fibrosis
- WS17-2 The sensitivity of MRI to detect both functional and structural lung abnormalities in sub-clinical cystic fibrosis. Journal of Cystic Fibrosis, Vol. 18 (pp S32-S32)
- P213 A comparison of ventilation MRI using hyperpolarised 3He and 129Xe to assess cystic fibrosis lung disease. Journal of Cystic Fibrosis, Vol. 18 (pp S117-S117)
- P211 129Xe ventilation MRI and LCI to assess acute maximal exercise as a method of airway clearance. Journal of Cystic Fibrosis, Vol. 18 (pp S116-S117)
- P212 Ventilation MRI tracks longitudinal lung function changes in patients with cystic fibrosis and clinically stable FEV1 and Lung Clearance Index. Journal of Cystic Fibrosis, Vol. 18 (pp S117-S117)
- Probing diffusion and perfusion in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis with hyperpolarised xenon and dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging. Thorax, Vol. 73(Suppl 4) (pp A44-A45). London, UK, 5 December 2018 - 7 December 2018. View this article in WRRO
- Comparison of inhaled 19F C3F8 and hyperpolarized 129Xe lung ventilation MRI. Imaging
- Longitudinal monitoring of lung microstructure with HP gas diffusion-weighted MRI in mild cystic fibrosis children. Cystic Fibrosis View this article in WRRO
- Hyperpolarised gas ventilation MRI detects early lung ventilation heterogeneity in children with primary ciliary dyskinesia. Paediatric Respiratory Physiology and Sleep
- Late breaking abstract - Hyperpolarised gas MRI demonstrates sub-clinical progression in IPF over 6 months. European Respiratory Journal, Vol. 50(Suppl 61). Milan, Italy, 9 September 2017 - 13 September 2017. View this article in WRRO
- Ventilation heterogeneity assessed in patients with mild cystic fibrosis and asthma using Hyperpolarised gas MRI histogram analysis. Imaging
- LONGITUDINAL MONITORING OF DISEASE PROGRESSION IN CHILDREN WITH MILD CF USING 3-HELIUM MRI AND LCI. Pediatric Pulmonology, Vol. 51 (pp 348-348) View this article in WRRO
- Diffusion-weighted hyperpolarised gas MRI in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis : reproducibility and clinical significance. ERS International Congress 2016 abstracts, Vol. 48(Suppl 60). London, UK, 3 September 2016 - 7 September 2016. View this article in WRRO
- Longitudinal monitoring of disease progression in children with mild CF using hyperpolarised gas MRI and LCI. 9.1 Respiratory Function Technologists/Scientists View this article in WRRO
- Ventilation CT : voxel-level comparison with HP gas MRI. European Respiratory Journal, Vol. 48(Suppl 60). Estoril, Portugal, 10 March 2016 - 13 March 2016. View this article in WRRO
- Comparison of 3 He and 129 Xe MRI for evaluation of lung microstructure and ventilation at 1.5 T. European Respiratory Journal, Vol. 48(suppl 60), 3 September 2016 - 7 September 2016. View this article in WRRO
- WE-AB-202-07: Ventilation CT: Voxel-Level Comparison with Hyperpolarized Helium-3 & Xenon-129 MRI. Medical Physics, Vol. 43(6) (pp 3795-3796), 31 July 2016 - 4 August 2016. View this article in WRRO
- P286 Correlations of functional multi-nuclear MR imaging indices with pulmonary function tests in the assessment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Thorax, Vol. 70(Suppl 3) (pp A223.1-A223)
- P283 Hyperpolarised Gas MRI – a pathway to Clinical Diagnostic Imaging. Thorax, Vol. 70(Suppl 3) (pp A220.3-A221)
- Assessment of lung microstructure in ILD with3He and129Xe MRI. 4.1 Clinical respiratory physiology, exercise and functional imaging
- Hyperpolarised gas MR lung imaging – Breaks through to clinical practice. 1.3 Imaging
- P273 Assessment Of Lung Microstructure In Interstitial Lung Disease With Hyperpolarised Gas Mri. Thorax, Vol. 69(Suppl 2) (pp A192-A193)
Preprints
- Longitudinal lung function assessment of patients hospitalised with COVID-19 using 1H and 129Xe lung MRI, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
- Assessment of brain perfusion using hyperpolarized 129Xe MRI in a subject with established stroke.. Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging. View this article in WRRO
- Teaching interests
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- Supervision of research projects for students undertaking MSc and PhD projects.
- Training postdoctoral researchers and PhD students in 129Xe polarisation and NMR physics.