title: An experimental study on the assessment of rabbit hepatic fibrosis by using magnetic resonance T1ρ imaging.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To explore the correlation between the T1ρ values of liver and liver fibrosis by using magnetic resonance (MR) T1ρ imaging.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study consisted of the control group and the hepatic fibrosis (HF) group. Carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) injection was performed once a week for 10 weeks (week 1-10) in the HF group which was divided into 5 subgroups and underwent MR examinations at weeks 4, 5, 6, 10, and 15 respectively post the first CCl4 injection (week 1). According to Scheuer Classification, the stage of HF of all rabbits was classified as S0-S4. Mann-Whitney U test was performed to compare the T1ρ values, and p<0.05 was considered statistically significant.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The control group included 11 rabbits and the HF group included 46 rabbits. The T1ρ values in the HF group tended to increase with the increase of CCl4 injection duration or in higher HF stages. The T1ρ values were significantly lower (p=0.036) in the control group (or the stage S0 group) (23.5±4.0 ms) compared to the whole HF group (or S1-S4 group) (26.1±3.7 ms), and dropped at week 15 (p=0.043) after the CCl4 injection was stopped at week 10.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  T1ρ imaging is closely associated with the severity of HF and may play an important role in the early diagnosis of HF.
authors.affiliation: Medical Imaging Department, The University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen, China.
authors.forename: Jinzhao
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: National-Regional Key Technology Engineering Laboratory for Medical Ultrasound, Guangdong Key Laboratory for Biomedical Measurements and Ultrasound Imaging, Department of Biomedical Engineering School of Medicine, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China.
authors.forename: Bingsheng
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: National-Regional Key Technology Engineering Laboratory for Medical Ultrasound, Guangdong Key Laboratory for Biomedical Measurements and Ultrasound Imaging, Department of Biomedical Engineering School of Medicine, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China.
authors.forename: Guo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bin
authors.affiliation: National-Regional Key Technology Engineering Laboratory for Medical Ultrasound, Guangdong Key Laboratory for Biomedical Measurements and Ultrasound Imaging, Department of Biomedical Engineering School of Medicine, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China.
authors.forename: Shihui
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Medical Imaging Department, The Peking University-Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen, China.
authors.forename: Fei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.affiliation: Medical Imaging Department, The Peking University-Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen, China. Electronic address: baszzlq@163.com.
authors.forename: Liqiu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zou
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002251:Carbon Tetrachloride; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008099:Liver / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D011817:Rabbits; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D002251:Carbon Tetrachloride
keywords: Hepatic fibrosis; Histopathology; Magnetic resonance T1ρ imaging; Rabbit