Emphysema is characterized by a loss of the microscopic alveolar tissue, causing the alveolar air spaces to merge into large voids. In particularly advanced cases hundreds or even thousands of tiny alveoli merge into one, with a commensurately smaller surface area for absorbing oxygen into the bloodstream.

MagniXene™ can be exploited to determine the presence or absence of those microscopic tissue boundaries. MRI scanning techniques can measure the average distance traveled by a tiny group of magnetic nuclei by diffusion. If the alveolar boundaries are intact, the diffusion distance is restricted. Alternatively in lung regions ravaged by emphysema, diffusion is unrestricted and distances traveled approach the value predicted by free diffusion.

While this technique has already been demonstrated using magnetized helium, MagniXene™ can be more sensitive by a factor of almost fifty due to its lower diffusion rate.