Steps are also being taken in academia and industry to use this hyperpolarized gas for lung imaging. Once the gas (Xe) is hyperpolarized through the SEOP process and the alkali metal is removed, a patient (either healthy or suffering from a lung disease), can breathe in the gas and an MRI can be taken. This results in an image of the spaces in the lungs filled with the gas. While the process to get to the point of imaging the patient may require knowledge from scientists very familiar with this technique and the equipment, steps are being taken to eliminate the need for this knowledge so that a hospital technician would be able to produce the hyperpolarized gas using a polarizer.