Sree Harsha Tirumani^1,2, Christina J MacAskil¹, Michael Markley¹, Nicole Pritts¹, Jared C Durieux¹, Robin Elliott^3,4, Adam Calaway^5,6, Lee Ponsky^5,6, Mark Griswold¹, Chris Flask¹, and Yong Chen^1
1Radiology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, United States, ²Radiology, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, Cleveland, OH, United States, ³Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, United States, ⁴Pathology, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, Cleveland, OH, United States, ⁵Urology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, United States, ⁶Urology, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, Cleveland, OH, United States

In this study, we applied kidney MR Fingerprinting in characterization of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and correlated the quantitative T1 and T2 values with tumor grade. Our results show significantly lower T2 values between the high-grade/unclassified RCC group and the chromophobe/low-grade RCC group (55±19 vs. 90±24 msec; P<0.05), while no significant difference in T1 values was noticed (P>0.05). More importantly, MRF T1 and T2 measurements provide complementary information in characterization of RCC tumor grades with a sensitivity of 89% and a specificity of 98% in differentiation of the two RCC groups, demonstrating the strength of multi-parametric imaging.

Wilfried Reichardt¹, Jan Lipovsek¹, Marco Reisert¹, Harald Horbach¹, Christopher Schlett¹, Fabian Bamberg¹, Peggy Sekula¹, Anna Köttgen¹, Elias Kellner¹, and Martin Büchert^1
1University Medical Center Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany

We implemented a processing pipeline for kidney cyst segmentation using a hierarchical patch-based stack of U-nets and applied it to abdominal MRI images of the German National Cohort (GNC) study. The training data set included 300 cases, and the final net was applied to the dataset of 11,207 MRIs. Kidney cysts could be segmented with 98% sensitivity above a lower detection threshold of 1ml. The relation of first parameters based on the cyst segmentation with age and sex are presented. This result presents an optimal starting point to identify more advanced bimarkaers and their correlates, especially with kidney function parameters.

Jason Michael Millward^1,2, Kathleen Cantow³, Thomas Gladytz¹, Sonia Waiczies^1,2, Thoralf Niendorf^1,2, and Erdmann Seeliger^3
1Berlin Ultrahigh Field Facility, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association, Berlin, Germany, ²Experimental and Clinical Research Center, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany, ³Institute of Physiology, Charite´ - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany

Tissue hypoxia occurs during acute kidney injury. MRI-based measurement of renal T₂* and T₂ could become a non-invasive surrogate marker of tissue oxygenation. However, the relationship between renal oxygenation and T₂*,T₂ is confounded by changes in the blood and tubular volume fractions, which are often accompanied by changes in kidney size (KS). We performed serial MRI scans along with clinically-realistic interventions acutely affecting renal oxygenation, applied directly while rats were in the scanner. We show that changes in KS correlate with changes in renal T₂*,T₂, underscoring that monitoring KS is necessary for correct interpretation of renal oxygenation derived from MRI.

Amber Hillaert¹, Katrien Vanderperren¹, and Pim Pullens^2
1Department of Morphology, Imaging, Orthopedics, Rehabilitation and Nutrition, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium, ²Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium

ASL- and BOLD-MRI have shown great potential in humans and rodents. To date, however, these techniques have not been used to image the canine kidney. Therefore, renal blood flow (RBF) and relaxation rate (R2*) were assessed using ASL and BOLD sequences on a beagle at 3T to examine the feasibility of both techniques in dogs. Mean RBF was 263.3 ± 39.0 and 277.4 ± 83.3 ml/100g/min in the right and left kidney, respectively. Mean R2* in the right kidney was 22.6 (range 14.8 - 36.8) s^-1. This pilot-study demonstrates the feasibility of ASL- and BOLD-MRI for renal assessment in dogs.

Rebeca Echeverria-Chasco^1,2, Paloma L. Martin Moreno³, Nuria Garcia-Fernandez^2,3, Marta Vidorreta⁴, Anne Oyarzun⁵, Arantxa Villanueva Larre^2,5,6, Gorka Bastarrika^1,2, and Maria A. Fernandez-Seara^1,2
1Radiology, Clinica Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain, ²IdiSNA, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain, ³Nephrology, Clinica Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain, ⁴Siemens Healthcare, Madrid, Spain, ⁵Electrical Electronics and Communications Engineering, Public University of Navarre, Pamplona, Spain, ⁶ISC, Institute of Smart Cities, Pamplona, Spain

Purpose: to evaluate the prognostic potential of a multiparametric renal MRI protocol (perfusion, diffusion and T1) for the assessment of the allograft in the very early stages after transplantation.

Methods: 18 transplanted patients were imaged 6 days after the transplantation with ASL, IVIM and T1 mapping sequences. 2 groups were made depending on the allograft evolution (group A: no adverse events and group B: any adverse event).

Results: eGFR, album-creatinine ratio and cortical and medullary RBF were significantly higher in allografts of group A than in group B. Significant correlations between eGFR and RBF were found.

Eric Sigmund¹, Artem Mikheev¹, Inge Brinkmann², Thomas Benkert³, and Hersh Chandarana^1
1Radiology, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY, United States, ²Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc., Malvern, PA, United States, ³Siemens Healthcare GmbH, Erlangen, Germany

Diffusion-weighted imaging in renal tissue is a complex interplay of microstructural and microcirculation effects, which are often quantified with diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) or intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM), as well as hybrid models such as Renal Flow and Microstructure AnisotroPy (REFMAP).  This work measures the modulation of these effects with cardiac phase and with flow compensated (FC) diffusion gradient waveforms.  Results show that both cardiac phase and FC affect diffusion metrics signficantly in cortex and medulla, and suggest that these experimental tools may in the future be leveraged to increase biophysical specificity of renal diffusion MRI metrics.

Ibtisam Aslam^1,2, Fariha Aamir³, Miklos KASSAI¹, Lindsey A CROWE¹, Sophie de Seigneux⁴, Solange Moll⁵, Lena BERCHTOLD⁴, and Jean-Paul VALLEE^1
1Service of Radiology, Geneva University Hospitals and Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital and University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland, ²Medical Image Processing Research Group (MIPRG), Deptt. of Electrical & Computer Engineering, COMSATS University Islamabad, ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, ³Medical Image Processing Research Group (MIPRG), Deptt. of Electrical & Computer Engineering, COMSATS University Islamabad (CUI), Pakistan, ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, ⁴Service and Laboratory of Nephrology, Department for Statistics, Department of Internal Medicine Specialties and of Physiology and Metabolism, University Hospital and University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland, ⁵Department of Clinical Pathology, Institute of Clinical Pathology, University Hospital and University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) affects 11% of the population in Switzerland & US per year and is a major public health issue. Also, the CKD is 16th most prominent reason of life lost worldwide. MRI T1-mapping is a non-invasive way to monitor the renal prognosis. Recent studies show that the ∆T1 (cortex-medullary difference) has a strong positive correlation with fibrosis in CKD patients and is an important biomarker for CKD. This work proposes a validation of the T1-map cortico-medullary difference (ΔT1) values measured from automatically segmented cortex and medulla for eGFR and fibrosis assessment of allograft kidneys.

Charlotte E Buchanan¹, Hao Li², David M Morris³, Alexander J Daniel¹, João Sousa⁴, Steven Sourbron⁴, David L Thomas^5,6,7, Andrew Nicholas Priest^2,8, and Susan T Francis^1
1Sir Peter Mansfield Imaging Centre, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom, ²Department of Radiology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom, ³Centre for Cardiovascular Science, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom, ⁴Department of Infection, Immunity and Cardiovascular Disease, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom, ⁵Neuroradiological Academic Unit, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom, ⁶Dementia Research Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom, ⁷Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom, ⁸Department of Radiology, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, United Kingdom

Standardisation and multicentre evaluation of renal MRI measures is crucial for clinical translation. Here we present results of a Travelling kidney study on GE, Philips and Siemens using a harmonised multiparametric renal MRI protocol, and show results of B₀ and B₁ mapping, T₁, and T₂* mapping. The mode B₀ within the kidneys did not vary across vendors, however the FWHM was narrower for Vendor 1. No significant differences were seen in MOLLI T₁ values of the renal cortex and medulla after this data was corrected for the offset in T₁ seen in the NIST phantom.

Julia Stabinska¹, Aruna Singh^1,2, Farzad Sedaghat², Max Kates³, Yuguo Li^1,2, and Michael T. McMahon^1,2
1F.M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, United States, ²The Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States, ³The James Buchanan Brady Urological Institute, Department of Urology, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States

The extent of recovery of renal function in patients with urinary tract obstructions depends on early diagnosis and prompt intervention. In the present study, we employed dynamic contrast-enhanced MR-CEST urography to noninvasively assess kidney function in mice with unilateral ureter obstruction (UUO) at two time points (day 1 and 2) after UUO surgery. Using a dynamic CEST MRI protocol, we were able to detect a slight increase in pH values (pH 6.74 ± 0.08 and 6.62 ± 0.04 in the UUO and contralateral kidney, respectively) as well as iopamidol retention in the UUO kidney.

Juan Pablo Gonzalez-Pereira¹, Cody Johnson², Shane A Wells², Wade Bushman³, and Alejandro Roldan-Alzate^1,2
1Mechanical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States, ²Radiology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States, ³Urology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States

Lower urinary track symptoms (LUTS) affect many older adults. Existing methods to evaluate the lower urinary tract are invasive and provide limited information about changes in bladder anatomy and detrusor muscle function. Use of non-invasive methods for the study of lower urinary tract anatomy and function has been limited. This pilot study demonstrates the feasibility of MRI urodynamics in healthy subjects and in LUTS patients. Future advancements in this study will be aimed at using the data acquired to further deepen the comprehension of the bladder voiding cycle.