Prandial Effects on 2D (b-M1) Optimized Intravoxel Incoherent Motion Quantification in the Liver

Motivation: Food ingestion is known to increase blood flow in the liver. However, detection of prandial effects using conventional quantitative intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) methods is confounded by large measurement variability of the perfusion-related IVIM parameters. Goal(s): Detect prandial-induced changes in IVIM estimates in the liver. Approach: 2D (b-value and first-order motion moment (M1)) noise-optimized IVIM acquisitions were acquired pre- and postprandial. IVIM estimates were obtained using a recently proposed advanced fitting technique. Pre- vs postprandial IVIM estimates were compared. Results: The optimized IVIM methods detected prandial-induced changes in the blood velocity standard deviation (mean relative change=9.4±7.8%; preprandial coefficient of variation=5.6%). Impact: Quantitative IVIM is capable of detecting prandial-induced changes in blood perfusion in the liver. Liver IVIM data may need to be acquired in a fasting state, and evaluating prandial effects may provide insight into various diseases’ pathophysiological changes.