Multiple-bolus dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI in the pancreas during a glucose challenge

Abstract

Purpose: To assess the feasibility of multiple-bolus dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the pancreas; to optimize the analysis; and to investigate application of the method to a glucose challenge in type 2 diabetes. Materials and Methods: A 4-bolus DCE-MRI protocol was performed on five patients with type 2 diabetes and 11 healthy volunteers during free-breathing. Motion during the dynamic time series was corrected for using a model-driven nonlinear registration. A glucose challenge was administered intravenously between the first and second DCE-MRI acquisition in all patients and in seven of the healthy controls. Results: Image registration improved the reproducibility of the DCE-MRI model parameters across the repeated bolus-acquisitions in the healthy controls with no glucose challenge (eg, coefficient of variation for Ktrans improved from 38% to 28%). Native tissue T1 was significantly lower in patients (374 ± 68 msec) compared with volunteers (519 ± 41 msec) but there was no significant difference in any of the baseline DCE-MRI parameters. No effect of glucose challenge was observed in either the patients or healthy volunteers. Conclusion: Multiple bolus DCE-MRI is feasible in the pancreas and is improved by nonlinear image registration but is not sensitive to the effects of an intravenous glucose challenge. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.