Quantifying hepatic arterial blood flow with 4D flow MRI to improve transarterial radioembolization: An in vivo feasibility and repeatability study

Purpose: This study evaluated the feasibility and repeatability of four-dimensional (4D) flow MRI for quantifying hepatic arterial blood flow (HABF) in healthy volunteers and patients with liver disease, and identified sources of measurement variability.
Methods: In this prospective single-centre study, twenty-three healthy volunteers, divided into two age-based subgroups, and twelve patients with a suspected liver disease (cirrhosis and/or malignancy) underwent imaging on a 3T MRI system. Two-dimensional (2D) and 4D flow acquisitions were obtained, from which time-averaged and peak systolic areas, velocities, and flow rates of the common hepatic artery (CHA) were extracted. Feasibility was assessed based on visibility of the CHA on phase-contrast MRA. Scan-rescan repeatability was assessed by calculating the within-subject coefficient of variation (CVwithin) using a two-level variance components analysis (VCA). Within-subject variance was further decomposed into acquisition-related and plane positioning components using a three-level VCA. Agreement between 2D and 4D flow was evaluated using Bland-Altman analysis and Pearson’s correlation.
This DSC contains the following:
Folder 'Raw_data' contains:
1. Protocols
a) MRI protocol
2. Imaging data
a) MRI data
Each dataset contains the following acquisitions:
- 3D T1-weighted gradient echo (Dixon)
- 2D T2-weighted steady-state free precession
- 3D T2*-weighted radial
- 2D flow VENC scout
- 2D flow
- 4D flow
3. Results
a) Results
Excel file with the results.
Used software: 2D flow acquisitions were processed in Segment v4.1.0.1, R14284b (Medviso AB, Lund, Sweden; segment.heiberg.se). 4D flow acquisitions were processed in prototype software (4D Flow Demonstrator Version 2.4, Siemens Healthineers, Forchheim, Germany).