Feasibility of a low-field MR imager using hyperpolarized /sup 129/Xe

Low-field MRI is a less expensive and more flexible alternative to high-field proton MRI. T/sub 1/ measurements of hyperpolarized /sup 129/Xe (H-Xe) were made at 85 Gauss using a 100 kHz homemade spectrometer in the fringe field of a 1.89 Tesla superconducting magnet. T/sub 1/ was measured in the range of 400-800s with a SNR of 11/spl plusmn/1. These T/sub 1/ values indicate that a low-field MR imaging system may be feasible.