title: Feasibility of magnetic resonance elastography for the pancreas at 3T.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  1) To assess the usefulness of an elastic belt bracing the upper abdomen for reducing the miscalculated areas of the pancreas on 3.0T magnetic resonance elastography (MRE); 2) to test whether MRE can detect difference of stiffness between normal pancreas and the focal pancreatic diseases.
  
  
  METHODS
  Using an initial eight normal volunteers, miscalculated areas were compared between MRE with the elastic belt and without the belt on 3.0T MRI. Then, using the belt, MRE of the normal pancreas was measured using 14 volunteers and 11 patients with focal pancreatic lesions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The median (95% confidence interval [CI]) percentages of correctly calculated areas were 57.4% (32.9-63.0) with the elastic belt and 35.3% (11.4-60.4) without the belt (P = 0.0078). The stiffness of each pancreatic segment of the normal volunteers (mean ± SE) was 2.37 ± 0.16 kPa for the head, 2.46 ± 0.17 kPa for the body, and 2.58 ± 0.26 kPa for the tail. The stiffness of seven pancreatic cancers was 6.06 ± 0.49 kPa, which was higher than the overall pancreatic stiffness of the normal volunteers (2.47 ± 0.11 kPa, P < 0.0001). Stiffness of the pancreatic lesions in the head of 6.03 ± 0.42 kPa, body of 5.57 ± 0.82 kPa, and tail of 5.9 ± 1.9 kPa were also higher than those of corresponding segments of the normal volunteers (P = 0.0011, 0.0029, and 0.029, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  With the elastic belt, miscalculation of the pancreatic stiffness was reduced. MRE showed differences of stiffness between normal pancreas and pancreatic lesions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic Radiology & Nuclear Medicine, Hamamatsu University, School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan.
authors.forename: Yohei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Itoh
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Hamamatsu University Hospital, Hamamatsu, Japan.
authors.forename: Yasuo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Takehara
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiological Technology, Chutoen General Medical Center, Kakegawa, Japan.
authors.forename: Toshihiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kawase
authors.affiliation: GE Healthcare, Japan, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Kenichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Terashima
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Chutoen General Medical Center, Kakegawa, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoshihisa
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ohkawa
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic Radiology & Nuclear Medicine, Hamamatsu University, School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hirose
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic Radiology & Nuclear Medicine, Hamamatsu University, School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan.
authors.forename: Ai
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Koda
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic Radiology & Nuclear Medicine, Hamamatsu University, School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan.
authors.forename: Naoko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hyodo
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic Radiology & Nuclear Medicine, Hamamatsu University, School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan.
authors.forename: Takasuke
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ushio
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic Radiology & Nuclear Medicine, Hamamatsu University, School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hirai
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic Radiology & Nuclear Medicine, Hamamatsu University, School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan.
authors.forename: Nobuko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yoshizawa
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic Radiology & Nuclear Medicine, Hamamatsu University, School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan.
authors.forename: Shuhei
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yamashita
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic Radiology & Nuclear Medicine, Hamamatsu University, School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan.
authors.forename: Hatsuko
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nasu
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Hamamatsu University Hospital, Hamamatsu, Japan.
authors.forename: Naoki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ohishi
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic Radiology & Nuclear Medicine, Hamamatsu University, School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan.
authors.forename: Harumi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sakahara
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D054459:Elasticity Imaging Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010179:Pancreas / Q000473:pathology*; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012016:Reference Values; D015203:Reproducibility of Results
keywords: autoimmune pancreatitis; elastography; magnetic resonance; pancreas; pancreatic cancer