Susan T. Francis, Ph.D.

Yuelang Zhang¹, Chenxia Li¹, Jie Gao¹, Xiang Li¹, and Jian Yang^1
1Department of Diagnostic Radiology, The First Hospital of Medical School, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi¡¯an, Shaanxi, China

The aim of this study is investigate the correlation between renal perfusion and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) in volunteers and patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) by using the flow-sensitive alternating inversion recovery technique in 3.0T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The results demonstrated that the significant difference in perfusion among healthy volunteers, CKD group with eGFR ¡Ý 60ml/min/1.73m2, and CKD group with eGFR< 60ml/min/1.73m2. Moreover, the perfusion values in CKD patients increased with the increase of eGFR. It indicates that FAIR-ASL can reflect the renal blood flow perfusion, thus indirectly reflecting early renal function change.

Charlotte E Buchanan^1,2, Eleanor F Cox¹, and Susan T Francis^1
1SPMIC, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom, ²Division of Medical Sciences and Graduate Entry Medicine, Royal Derby Hospital, Nottingham, United Kingdom

Readout schemes for multi-slice pulsed ASL of the human kidney at 3T are evaluated. Gradient echo (GE) based schemes of balanced fast field echo (bFFE) and gradient echo echo-planar imaging (GE-EPI) and spin echo (SE) based schemes of spin echo EPI (SE-EPI) and turbo spin echo (TSE) are compared for temporal SNR (tSNR), image SNR, spatial coverage, perfusion quantification and variability across slices and subjects. Gradient echo based schemes (bFFE and GE-EPI) provide optimal PWI-SNR and tSNR, with GE-EPI yielding multi-slice coverage in a short acquisition time.

Pottumarthi V. Prasad, Ph.D.

Maryam Seif¹, Chris Boesch¹, and Peter Vermathen^1
1Depts. Radiology and Clinical Research, University Bern, Bern, Switzerland

We evaluated the reproducibility of DTI and BOLD MRI parameters in native kidneys of healthy volunteers by performing three scans. Two scans were performed back-to-back with one hour break in between, followed by the third scan after three weeks. High reproducibility was obtained for ADC, FA, and R2* from DTI and BOLD measurements. The coefficients of variation between the scans separated by 3 weeks were similar to those for the back-to-back scans, indicating that the variances are primarily due to technically caused variances between scans rather than normal physiological variation over time.

Elissa Botterill¹, Windell Ang¹, Jas-mine Seah¹, Claire Mulcahy², Elif Ekinci^1,3, George Jerums^1,3, Richard MacIsaac^3,4, Pippa Storey⁵, Eric Sigmund⁵, Tim Spelman⁶, and Ruth P Lim^1,3
1Austin Health, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, ²The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, ³The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, ⁴St Vincent's Hospital, East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, ⁵CAIIR, Bernard and Irene Schwartz Center for Biomedical Imaging, NYU School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States, ⁶Burnet Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Reliable identification of diabetic kidney disease (DKD) in Type 1 diabetic patients (T1DM) and prediction of disease progression is challenging. BOLD and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) has potential to non-invasively evaluate renal function and microstructure. 25 T1DM with a) normal and b) low eGFR, and c) 10 healthy controls were recruited for BOLD and DTI at 3T. No differences were seen in medullary or cortical R2* values, and ADC between the three groups. Significant differences were seen with medullary and cortical FA in T1DM with low eGFR. DTI may be a promising tool for identification and monitoring of DKD.

Rotem S. Lanzman, Ph.D.

Moritz Jörg Schneider¹, Olaf Dietrich¹, Katharina Stella Winter¹, Maximilian Reiser¹, Michael Staehler², and Mike Notohamiprodjo^3
1Institute for Clinical Radiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Hospital Munich, Munich, Bavaria, Germany, ²Department of Urology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Hospital Munich, Munich, Bavaria, Germany, ³Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Hospital Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany

Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DW-MRI) and the associated method of intravoxel incoherent motion imaging (IVIM) are of increasing relevance in the clinical routine. The purpose of our study was to investigate the effects of partial nephrectomy in kidneys with solid renal masses on DW-MRI and IVIM-derived parameters. We were able to show that perfusion related IVIM parameters are highly sensitive to partial nephrectomy and are promising candidates to assess kidney functionality without the need for contrast agents.

Xinyao Zhao¹, Tianyi Qian², Xiaoqin Kong¹, Kezhou Xing¹, and Hao Shi^1
1Radiology, Shandong Provincial Qianfoshan Hospital, Jinan, Shandong, China, ²MR Collaborations NE Asia, Siemens Healthcare, Beijing, China

Acute rejection is one of the key influencing factors associated with the survival period of renal allograft. The aim of this study is to find useful indications for diagnosing acute renal allograft rejection in the early stage. The results shows that DKI and ASL were both able to detect the early functional changes by measuring diffusion and perfusion properties of transplanted kidneys, showing a reduction of cortical and medullary values, especially in the cortex.