小児腹部疾患のMRI

抄録

Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) is a special application of MRI that derives its contrast from differences in water molecule mobility in different tissues and structures. Water molecule mobility is restricted in tissues with higher cellular density, intact cell membranes and more complex fluid. DWI, a well-established technique in neuroimaging, is also useful in body imaging in children for tumor detection, characterization, and assessment of response to chemotherapy, and liver fibrosis.

On the other hand, gadolinium ethoxybenzyl diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid (Gd-EOB-DTPA) is a hepatobiliary MRI contrast agent. Gd-EOB-DTPA is taken up by hepatocytes and excreted via the biliary system. The advantages of Gd-EOB-DTPA include improved characterization of liver lesions and improved detection of metastases. Moreover, imaging with Gd-EOB-DTPA has been useful in the evaluation of various biliary pathologies including anatomical variants and liver function.

In this article, we introduce pediatric DWI in terms of principles, techniques, the normal appearance of abdominal anatomic structures, and current and emerging applications. And, we will describe the utility of Gd-EOB-DTPA.