Akira Yamada MD, Presenter: Nothing to Disclose

Takeshi Hara PhD, Abstract Co-Author: Nothing to Disclose

Feng Li MD, PhD, Abstract Co-Author: License agreement, Hologic, Inc License agreement, General Electric Company License agreement, Toshiba Corporation License agreement, Deus Technologies, LLC License agreement, Riverain Medical License agreement, Median Technologies License agreement, Mitsubishi Corporation

Masumi Kadoya MD, Abstract Co-Author: Nothing to Disclose

Kunio Doi PhD, Abstract Co-Author: Shareholder, Hologic, Inc License agreement, Hologic, Inc License agreement, Deus Technologies, LLC License agreement, Riverain Medical License agreement, Mitsubishi Corporation License agreement, MEDIAN Technologies License agreement, General Electric Company License agreement, Toshiba Corporation Research support, Deus Technologies, LLC Research support, DuPont Research support, Elbit Medical Imaging Ltd Research support, Fuji Photo Film Co, Ltd Research support, General Electric Company Research support, Hitachi, Ltd Research support, Eastman Kodak Company Research support, Konica Minolta Group Research support, Mitaya Manufacturing Co, Ltd Research support, Mitsubishi Corporation Research support, Koninklijke Philips Electronics NV Research support, Hologic, Inc Research support, Riverain Medical Research support, Seiko Corporation Research support, Siemens AG Research support, 3M Company Research support, Toshiba Corporation

A reliable method for quantitative evaluation of liver function with anatomic details in humans has not been established to date. Gadoxetate disodium is a targeted MR contrast agent that can combine two features for extracellular and hepatocyte-specific agents. Our objective in this study was to evaluate liver function quantitatively by use of a newly developed computerized method on gadoxetate disodium-enhanced MR images.

The plasma disappearance rate of indocyanine green (ICG-PDR) and 3D-GRE T1-weighted images with fat suppression obtained at 20 min after gadoxetate disodium administration were obtained from 16 patients. The manual outlines of the whole liver and spleen were obtained to measure the liver volume (V) and the signal intensity of the liver (L20) and spleen (S20) from gadoxetate disodium-enhanced MR images for comparison with a computerized method using local thresholding technique. The time for drawing outlines, and the correlation coefficient between ICG-PDR and various feature values including V(L20 - S20)/S20 were compared for the manual and the computerized methods. The informed consent requirement was waived, and this retrospective study was approved by the Institutional Review Board.

A significantly high correlation was observed between ICG-PDR and V(L20 – S20)/S20 by the computerized method (r = 0.897, 95%CI = 0.897 - 0.900) and by the manual method (r = 0.899, 95%CI = 0.898 - 0.900), whereas the correlation coefficient between ICG-PDR and L20 was 0.813 (95%CI = 0.808 - 0.818) by the computerized method and 0.833 (95%CI = 0.828 - 0.839) by the manual method. The mean time for drawing outlines was significantly shorter by the computerized method (3.62 min, 95%CI = 2.07 - 5.16) than by the manual method (14.3 min, 95%CI = 12.7 - 15.9).

The liver function corresponding to ICG-PDR can be estimated quantitatively and efficiently by use of the computerized method from the signal intensity of the liver on gadoxetate disodium-enhanced MR images with appropriate corrections for the liver volume and the extracellular contrast effect of gadoxetate disodium approximated by the signal intensity of the spleen.

The liver function corresponding to ICG-PDR can be estimated quantitatively and efficiently by use of the computerized method from the gadoxetate disodium-enhanced MR imaging.

Yamada, A, Hara, T, Li, F, Kadoya, M, Doi, K, Computerized Analysis of Liver Function Using Gadoxetate Disodium-enhanced MR Imaging.  Radiological Society of North America 2010 Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting, November 28 - December 3, 2010 ,Chicago IL. http://archive.rsna.org/2010/9005107.html