Reproducibility of Splanchnic Blood Flow Measured Using Phase-Contrast MRI

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Cardiovascular Physiology
• Gastroenterology

Background:

• Splanchnic blood flow assessment is crucial for understanding abdominal physiology and pathophysiology.
• Clinical relevance exists for patients with altered abdominal blood flow, vascular neuropathy, or atherosclerosis.
• Reliable, non-invasive methods for splanchnic blood flow measurement are needed.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the reproducibility of non-invasive phase-contrast MRI (PC-MRI) for measuring splanchnic blood flow.
• To evaluate the feasibility of PC-MRI for detecting postprandial blood flow changes.

Main Methods:

• Utilized 2D PC sequences on 3 Tesla MRI scanners (Siemens and Philips).
• Measured blood flow in the superior mesenteric artery, celiac trunk, hepatic artery, and portal vein in healthy individuals and type 2 diabetes patients.
• Assessed reproducibility using coefficient of variation (CoV) and Bland-Altman analysis, and evaluated postprandial changes via oral glucose tolerance tests.

Main Results:

• PC-MRI showed low intrasubject variability for the superior mesenteric artery, celiac trunk, and portal vein (within-session CoV: 7%-22%, between-session CoV: 16%-26%).
• Hepatic artery measurements exhibited higher variability (within-session CoV: 12%, between-session CoV: 32%).
• Glucose ingestion significantly increased blood flow in the superior mesenteric artery (88%) and portal vein (68%), which were robustly detected.

Conclusions:

• Phase-contrast MRI is a reproducible and feasible technique for measuring blood flow in the superior mesenteric artery, celiac trunk, and portal vein.
• PC-MRI can effectively detect postprandial changes in splanchnic blood flow.
• This technique holds promise for clinical applications in patients with altered abdominal blood flow.