Patient respiratory-triggered quantitative T₂ mapping in the pancreas

Area of Science:

• Magnetic Resonance Imaging
• Quantitative Imaging
• Medical Physics

Background:

• Abdominal T2 mapping is limited by long acquisition times and motion sensitivity.
• Accelerated T2 mapping at 3 Tesla (3 T) may enable quantitative assessment of diffuse pancreatic disease during free-breathing.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the feasibility of respiratory-triggered quantitative T2 analysis in the pancreas.
• To correlate T2 values with patient demographics, pancreatic location, duct dilatation, and pathology.

Main Methods:

• A 10-fold accelerated multiecho-spin-echo sequence was used for T2 quantification at 3 T.
• Two radiologists delineated regions of interest in the pancreatic head, body, and tail.
• Interreader reliability and associations between T2 values and clinical/radiological data were assessed.

Main Results:

• The accelerated sequence was successfully performed in 88 adults with a mean acquisition time of 2:48 min.
• Low intersubject T2 value variability was observed across pancreatic regions (head: 60.2 ± 8.3 msec, body: 63.9 ± 11.5 msec, tail: 66.8 ± 16.4 msec).
• Good interreader agreement (ICC, 0.82) was achieved. T2 values significantly correlated with age, pancreatic location, main pancreatic duct dilatation, and diffuse pancreatic disease.

Conclusions:

• Accelerated T2 mapping at 3 T is feasible and reproducible for pancreas imaging, even with organ motion.
• T2 values in the pancreatic parenchyma are significantly influenced by demographic and clinical factors.