Also: xenon anesthesia, hyperpolarized gas MRI, helium-3
Xenon can act as an anesthetic, and both xenon and helium-3 can be "hyperpolarized" so lungs show up in MRI scans.
Readiness: lab lab studies · prototype demonstrated objects · commercial products or buildings in real use · review summaries of other studies.
Franks and colleagues showed xenon blocks NMDA receptors, explaining its anesthetic effect.
As reported in: Franks, Dickinson, de Sousa et al. (1998). How does xenon produce anaesthesia?. Nature. doi:10.1038/24525
Abstract only
Albert and colleagues produced the first biological MRI images using laser-polarized xenon-129.
As reported in: Albert, Cates, Driehuys et al. (1994). Biological magnetic resonance imaging using laser-polarized 129Xe. Nature. doi:10.1038/370199a0
Abstract only
Van Beek and colleagues reviewed functional lung MRI using hyperpolarized helium-3 gas.
As reported in: van Beek, Wild, Kauczor et al. (2004). Functional MRI of the lung using hyperpolarized 3‐helium gas. Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging. doi:10.1002/jmri.20154