title: Assessment of hepatic perfusion in transplanted livers by pharmacokinetic analysis of dynamic magnetic resonance measurements.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to validate the assessment of hepatic perfusion by pharmacokinetic analysis of dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance image series.
  
  
  METHODS
  Dynamic measurements were performed with a saturation recovery turbo fast low angle shot (ie, FLASH) sequence over the course of approximately 4 minutes in 17 patients with transplanted livers. By pharmacokinetic analysis using an open 2-compartment model, we estimated and correlated an amplitude of signal enhancement, A, and the perfusion rate, kp, with invasive perfusion measurements from implanted thermo-diffusion probes (FTDP).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Data analysis for segment IV of the transplanted livers yielded a mean blood flow of 81 +/- 19 mL/min/100g and a mean perfusion rate of 13 +/- 6 minutes. There was a significant correlation between FTDP and kp (rS = 0.64, P = 0.01) but not with A.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although our open 2-compartment model oversimplifies the complexity of hepatic perfusion, it allows a numerically robust estimation of regional blood flow per unit of blood volume. Thus, dynamic magnetic resonance imaging represents a noninvasive method to assess hepatic perfusion rate which can be visualized in color coded images.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroradiology, University of Heidelberg, University Hospital Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany. johann.scharf@rad.ma.uni-heidelberg.de
authors.forename: Johann
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Scharf
authors.forename: Andre
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kemmling
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hess
authors.forename: Arianeb
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mehrabi
authors.forename: Guenter
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kauffmann
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Groden
authors.forename: Gunnar
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Brix
mesh_terms: D003287:Contrast Media; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000098:blood supply*; D016031:Liver Transplantation; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D010477:Perfusion; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media