Purpose
The assessment and classification of anatomy of hepatic artery (HA) is an essential step for both diagnosis and management of various diseases in the upper abdomen (1).
Currently,
contrast-enhanced CT angiography is used for this purpose.
Development of non-invasive imaging techniques for this purpose is an urgent problem because of recent recognition of nephrogenic systemic fibrosis and high rate of renal dysfunction coexisting with liver diseases.
In addition,
anatomical surveillance of HA is required for healthy candidates in living donor liver transplantation avoiding unnecessary irradiation....
Methods and Materials
This study comprised 31 patients (13 men and 18 women,
mean age: 65.6 years) who were suspected to have malignant tumor in the liver,
bile duct,
or pancreas,
all of whom underwent MR examination at a 3T scanner (Titan 3T,
Toshiba Medical Systems,
Ohtawara,
Japan).
Non-contrast hepatic MR arteriography were obtained with 3D-true SSFP (TR/TE/FA=4.8/2.4/90-110,
matrix: 256×256(ZIP),
thk: 2.0mm,
34slice,
NEX: 1,
resp.
trigger,
scan time: 5-7min,
STIR,
TI: 230) with selective IR pulse (black blood inversion time (BBTI): 1500).
BBTI was set according to...
Results
Mean visualization score of HA was 3.4 and acceptable in 90% of the cases (28/31). Mena visualization scores of right,
left,
and segment 4 were 3.0,
3.2,
and 2.0,
respectively.
Agreements between the observers were almost perfect (k > 0.8).
Twenty-six cases were classified as Michels type 1 and 3 were type 3 (Figs.
1 & 2).Assessment classification of HA could not be done in 3 cases because of poor visualization.
Arterial encasement was observed in 1 of 4 patients with bile duct cancers and...
Conclusion
Previous Reports
No report onT-SLIP hepatic MR arteriography in 3T
1 paper on T-SLIP hepatic MR arteriography in 1.5T (normal volunteers,
Shimada K,
et al.
Eur J Radiol 2011）
1 paper on unenhanced hepatic MRA using other technique (1.5T,
axial plane-based,
Puippe GD,
et al.
Eur J Radiol 2012)
Remaining Problems
Poor visualization of peripheral small branches
Poor visualization due to irregular respiration or visualization of vein or bile duct
Overdiagnosis of stenosis
Banding artifacts due to imaging sequence used (SSFP)
Unknown effects of previous...
References
Catalano OA,
et al.
Vascular and biliary variants in the liver: implications for liver surgery.
Radiographics 2008;28:359-78.
Miyazaki M,
Isoda H.
Non-contrast-enhanced MR angiography of the abdomen.
Eur J Radiol 2011;80:9-23.
Shimada K,
et al.
Non-contrast-enhanced hepatic MR angiography: do two-dimensional parallel imaging and short tau inversion recovery methods shorten acquisition time without image quality deterioration? Eur J Radiol 2011;77:137-42.
Puippe GD,
et al.
Performance of unenhanced respiratory-gated 3D SSFP MRA to depict hepatic and visceral artery anatomy and variants.
Eur J Radiol 2012;81:e823-9.
