Systems and methods for gas mixture delivery to humans inside an MRI scanner

1. A system for administering breathing gasses to a subject during a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan, the system comprising:

a plurality of containers containing one or more gasses, wherein the plurality of containers are comprised of flexible non-metallic containers;

a multi-port valve in fluid communication with the plurality of containers, wherein the plurality of containers supply the one or more gasses to the multi-port valve;

a two-way non-rebreathing valve;

a conduit in fluid communication with the multi-port valve and the two-way non-rebreathing valve;

a tube in fluid communication with the two-way non-rebreathing valve, a first sampling port and a second sampling port; and

a mouthpiece in fluid communication with the tube.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein:

at least one of the containers contains 5% CO2 and 95% O2;

at least one of the containers contains 5% N2 and 95% N2; and

at least one of the containers contains 5% CO2, 21% O2 and 74% N2.

3. The system of claim 1 further comprising a coupling mechanism configured couple to an MRI coil, wherein the coupling mechanism is configured to support the mouthpiece, the two-way breathing valve, and the tube from the MRI head coil.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein the coupling mechanism is configured to couple the conduit to the MRI head coil.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the tube is a U-shaped tube.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein the multi-port valve can be adjusted during use to adjust a mixture of the one or more gasses in fluid communication with the conduit.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the one or more gasses comprises O2, CO2 and N2.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein the first sampling port is coupled to an O2 monitor and the second sampling port is coupled to a CO2 monitor.

9. The system of claim 8 wherein the O2 monitor is configured to measure end-tidal O2 levels and the CO2 monitor is configured to measure end-tidal CO2 levels, and wherein the end-tidal O2 level is measured independent of the end-tidal CO2 level.

10. The system of claim 1 wherein the multi-port valve is configured to allow room air to enter a port in the multi-port valve.

11. The system of claim 1 further comprising a nose clip.

12. The system of claim 1 further comprising a first elbow coupling member coupled to the mouthpiece and the tube.

13. The system of claim 1 further comprising a second elbow coupling member coupled to the two-way non-rebreathing valve and the tube.

14. A method comprising:

administering breathing gasses to a subject during a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan; and

monitoring a plurality of physiological parameters of the subject during the MRI scan, wherein the breathing gasses are administered to the patient via a system comprising:

a plurality of containers containing one or more gasses, wherein the plurality of containers are comprised of flexible non-metallic containers;

a multi-port valve in fluid communication with the plurality of containers, wherein the plurality of containers supply the one or more gasses to the multi-port valve;

a two-way non-rebreathing valve;

a conduit in fluid communication with the multiport valve and the two-way non-rebreathing valve;

a tube in fluid communication with the two-way non-rebreathing valve, a first sampling port and a second sampling port; and

a mouthpiece in fluid communication with the tube.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein administering breathing gasses to a subject comprises administering gasses containing the following mixtures:

5% CO2 and 95% O2;

5% N2 and 95% N2; and

5% CO2, 21% O2 and 74% N2.

16. The method of claim 14 further comprising coupling a coupling mechanism to an MRI head coil to support the mouthpiece, the two-way breathing valve, and the tube from the MRI head coil.

17. The method of claim 16 further comprising coupling the conduit to the MRI head coil with the coupling mechanism.

18. The method of claim 14 wherein the tube is a U-shaped tube.

19. The method of claim 14 further comprising adjusting the multi-port valve to adjust a mixture of the one or more gasses in fluid communication with the conduit.

20. The method of claim 14 wherein the one or more gasses comprises O2, CO2 and N2.

21. The method of claim 20 wherein O2 and CO2 gasses are applied concomitantly.

22. The method of claim 14 further comprising applying a nose clip to the subject to restrict the subject from breathing through his or her nose.

23. The method of claim 14 wherein a facemask is not applied to the subject.

24. The method of claim 14 wherein the first sampling port is coupled to an O2 monitor and the second sampling port is coupled to a CO2 monitor.

25. The method of claim 24 further comprising measuring end-tidal O2 levels and measuring end-tidal CO2 levels, wherein the end-tidal O2 level is measured independently of the end-tidal CO2 level.

26. The method of claim 25 further comprising:

generating a CO2 reactivity map; and

generating an O2 reactivity map.

27. The method of claim 26 further comprising:

using the CO2 reactivity map as a surrogate of cerebrovascular reactivity or cerebrovascular reserve for disease diagnosis and/or monitoring; and

using the O2 reactivity map as a surrogate of cerebral blood volume for disease diagnosis and/or monitoring.

28. A method comprising:

administering breathing gasses to a subject during a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan;

monitoring a plurality of physiological parameters of the subject during the MRI scan, wherein the breathing gasses are administered to the patient via a system comprising:

a plurality of containers containing one or more gasses;

a multi-port valve in fluid communication with the plurality of containers;

a two-way non-rebreathing valve;

a conduit in fluid communication with the multiport valve and the two-way non-rebreathing valve;

a tube in fluid communication with the two-way non-rebreathing valve, a first sampling port and a second sampling port; and

a mouthpiece in fluid communication with the tube, wherein the first sampling port is coupled to an O2 monitor and the second sampling port is coupled to a CO2 monitor;

measuring end-tidal O2 levels and measuring end-tidal CO2 levels, wherein the end-tidal O2 level is measured independently of the end-tidal CO2 level;

generating a CO2 reactivity map;

generating an O2 reactivity map; and

using the O2 reactivity map to normalize a CVR map to obtain a corrected CVR map.