Establishment of one-breath-hold CEST imaging: clinical application for liver function assessment

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K17144
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 52040:Radiological sciences-related
• Research Institution: Kyushu University
• Principal Investigator: TOKUNAGA Chiaki 九州大学, 大学病院, 診療放射線技師 (90645574)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 磁気共鳴医学

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The aim of this study was to establish the usefulness of CEST imaging in the assessment of imaging liver function by developing a sequence that enables one-breath-hold CEST imaging.
The saturation pulse duration and power useful for detecting pH changes were identified in a phantom. The proposed TSE-Dixon method proved to be capable of significantly reducing acquisition time and acquiring equivalent image quality compared to the conventional CEST imaging. Furthermore, by adjusting the TR and saturation pulse duration, APT imaging could be acquired under 21 s of one-breath-hold without compromising image quality.

Free Research Field

放射線技術学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

慢性肝障害患者にとって、肝機能の評価は予後にも関連するため重要であるが、一般的な血液性化学検査や肝生検は侵襲度が高く局所的な肝臓の評価ができない。
本研究で開発したTSE-Dixon法を用いたAPTイメージングは、1回の呼吸停止下で従来のCESTイメージングと同等の画質でAPT強調画像を取得することができ、短時間で肝臓の撮像を行うことが可能となった。TSE-Dixon法を併用したAPTイメージングを用いることで、画像的肝機能評価が可能になることが期待される。