Dynamic MRI of the pancreas--gadolinium enhancement in normal tissue

The purpose of this study was to measure signal enhancement over time in the normal pancreas after intravenous bolus infection of gadolinium-DTPA (Schering Health Care Ltd) (Gd-DTPA). Data was obtained from 25 patients with no evidence of pancreatic disease before, immediately after and over a 2 min period following injection of Gd-DTPA (Magnevist 0.2 ml per kg). Scans were obtained using a turboFLASH sequence which allows 11 slices to be acquired during a single breathhold period of 19 s. Five mm thick slices were acquired in the coronal/oblique plane at 0.5 mm intervals. A pre-contrast block of slices was obtained followed by dynamic post-contrast scanning with the first of four acquisitions beginning 12-15 s after bolus injection. A 10 s interval between each acquisition was selected to allow the patients to breathe. Signal intensity for each acquisition was measured for the pancreatic head and tail and also for the liver. All values were normalized to fat. Marked enhancement of the pancreas was seen in all cases with peak enhancement occurring in the first and second post-contrast acquisition. The pancreatic duct was more easily seen after contrast injection.