Volume-assisted estimation of liver function based on Gd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced MR relaxometry

Area of Science:

• Hepatology
• Radiology
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Liver function is crucial for patient management and treatment planning.
• Indocyanine green (ICG) clearance is a standard method for assessing liver function.
• Non-invasive imaging techniques are sought to complement or replace traditional functional tests.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the quantitative estimation of liver function using hepatic magnetic resonance (MR) relaxometry.
• To determine the correlation between indocyanine green plasma disappearance rate (ICG-PDR) and MR relaxometry parameters.
• To assess the utility of gadoxetic acid (Gd-EOB-DTPA) enhanced MR imaging for liver function assessment.

Main Methods:

• One hundred and seven patients underwent ICG clearance tests and 3 Tesla Gd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced MRI with MR relaxometry.
• T1 relaxation times were calculated pre- and post-contrast administration.
• The reduction rate of T1 relaxation time (rrT1) and liver volume-assisted index of T1 reduction rate (LVrrT1) were correlated with ICG-PDR.

Main Results:

• A significant correlation was found between ICG-PDR and liver volume (LV), post-contrast T1 (T1post), and rrT1.
• A stronger correlation (r=0.92, p<0.001) was observed between ICG-PDR and LVrrT1.
• An MRI-based estimated ICG-PDR value (ICG-PDRest) was successfully calculated.

Conclusions:

• Gd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced MR relaxometry can quantitatively estimate liver function.
• Volume-assisted MR relaxometry demonstrates a superior correlation with ICG-PDR compared to standard MR relaxometry.
• This technique holds potential as a novel, non-invasive index for liver function assessment and disease monitoring.