New Imaging Techniques in the Diagnosis of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases

Cross-sectional imaging modalities are fundamental in the management of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) from the first diagnosis and throughout the entire course of the disease. Over the past few years, the use of magnetic resonance (MR) imaging (MRI) has considerably increased, and no other imaging modality has experienced as advanced a development as MRI.

A comprehensive literature search (PubMed/Medline) using keywords such as 'MR enterography', 'imaging modalities', 'IBD', and 'Crohn's disease' was performed. 48 articles published between 1999 and 2015 were systematically reviewed. In this article, besides the current standard MRI techniques, we review novel and implementable for routine use MR techniques. The use of positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) and hybrid imaging such as PET/MRI with enormous potential will also be briefly discussed.

New imaging techniques such as diffusion-weighted imaging, dynamic contrast-enhanced MR perfusion, and MR motility imaging yield advanced findings about changes in the microenvironment and alterations in motility of the affected bowel segment, and are proven to improve the diagnostic accuracy in assessing the scale, activity level, and severity of the IBD. Novel magnetization transfer imaging allows direct visualization of fibrosis in the bowel wall.

Diffusion-weighted imaging can be easily implemented in standard MRI for routine use to further enhance the diagnostic accuracy in disease assessment. For validation of magnetization transfer imaging, larger studies are warranted.