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Measurement of pancreatic volume by abdominal MRI: a validation study
Edward W Szczepaniak1, Konstantinos Malliaras, Michael D Nelson
1Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California, United States of America.
Objective:
To develop abdominal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) protocol to measure pancreatic volume in humans and to validate it in large animals.
Materials And Methods:
We performed abdominal MRI in eight mini-pigs using a clinical 3T MRI system. We used consecutive parallel abdominal slices, covering the entire pancreas to calculate pancreatic volume. Following MRI, animals were sacrificed, the pancreas was removed, and the volume of the pancreas was measured by water displacement. We used the same MRI protocol to measure pancreatic volume in 21 humans. To assess reproducibility of in vivo measurement we repeated MRI pancreas volume evaluation within 24 hours in additional five humans.
Results:
In mini-pigs the measurements of pancreatic volume by MRI and by water displacement were almost identical (R(2) = 0.9867; p<0.0001). In humans the average pancreas volume was 72.7+/-4.5 ml, range from 35.0 to 105.5 ml. This result is in strong agreement with results of previous large postmortem and computed tomography (CT) studies. Repeated measurements of pancreatic volume in humans were highly reproducible. Pancreatic volume measured in vivo was negatively correlated with age, body fat mass, pancreatic TG levels, and visceral fat mass.
Conclusions:
These initial results are highly encouraging and our protocol for pancreatic volume estimation in vivo may prove useful in obesity research to follow in vivo changes of pancreatic volume and structure during time course of obesity and type 2 diabetes development.
Insights
A new abdominal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) protocol accurately measures pancreatic volume in humans and large animals. This non-invasive method shows high reproducibility and potential for obesity and diabetes research.
Area of Science:
- Medical Imaging
- Human Physiology
- Comparative Anatomy
Background:
- Pancreatic volume is a key indicator in metabolic research.
- Accurate in vivo measurement of pancreatic volume is challenging.
- Existing methods have limitations in reproducibility and invasiveness.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate a novel abdominal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) protocol for measuring human pancreatic volume.
- To assess the accuracy and reproducibility of the developed MRI protocol.
- To explore correlations between pancreatic volume and metabolic factors.
Main Methods:
- Abdominal MRI was performed on mini-pigs and humans using a clinical 3T MRI system.
- Pancreatic volume was calculated from consecutive parallel MRI slices.
- Validation in mini-pigs involved ex vivo water displacement measurement.
- Reproducibility in humans was assessed by repeat MRI within 24 hours.
Main Results:
- MRI-derived pancreatic volume in mini-pigs closely matched water displacement measurements (R² = 0.9867, p < 0.0001).
- In humans, average pancreatic volume was 72.7 ± 4.5 ml, consistent with prior studies.
- In vivo measurements demonstrated high reproducibility.
- Pancreatic volume showed negative correlations with age, body fat mass, pancreatic triglyceride levels, and visceral fat mass.
Conclusions:
- The developed abdominal MRI protocol provides an accurate and reproducible method for in vivo pancreatic volume estimation.
- This non-invasive technique holds significant promise for longitudinal studies in obesity and type 2 diabetes research.
- The protocol may facilitate tracking changes in pancreatic volume and structure over time in relation to metabolic disease progression.
