The article cited by the OP discusses using MRI to visually observe Xenon labeled gases diffuse across the alveolar membrane. It's cool but not a breakthrough. We have been able to measure the same paramater for decades; Diffusion Capacity is a routine part of Pulmonary Function Testing that can be done in any hospital lab.
In audio terms this would be like measuring distortion. Imagine if a new technology came along that could tell you the same thing that old technology already tells you.
Not sure how this relates to any particular topic here. It doesn't begin to tell us if doing measurements are worthwhile, only that there is another way to do them