title: Echo-planar imaging relaxometry to measure the viscosity of a model meal.
abstract: A method for measuring noninvasively the viscosity of a polysaccharide model meal using the known relationship between relaxation times and polysaccharide concentration in solution in vitro is presented. The aim is to develop a method for monitoring digesta viscosity in vivo, using EPI to capture the motion of the gastrointestinal lumen. The transverse relaxation rate T-12 of locust bean gum solutions was calibrated against the zero-shear viscosity at 37 degreesC. Differences in viscosity were distinguished significantly using T-12 measurements. T-12 and viscosity were insensitive to exposure to gastric juice and changes in pH, and the model meal was well received by volunteers and provided good contrast in vivo in EPI images. Therefore it would be possible to use this method to monitor the changes in meal viscosity within the gastric lumen in vivo.
authors.affiliation: Magnetic Resonance Centre, Department of Physics, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Marciani
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Manoj
authors.forename: B P
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Hills
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Young
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fillery-Travis
authors.forename: R C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Spiller
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Gowland
mesh_terms: D017352:Echo-Planar Imaging; D005504:Food Analysis / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D011134:Polysaccharides / Q000737:chemistry*; D014783:Viscosity
chemical_list: D011134:Polysaccharides