Noninvasive assessment of liver fibrosis using multiple MRI parameters: an experimental study in rats

Motivation: Early detection and noninvasive assessment of liver fibrosis are significant in clinical practice. Goal(s): Liver biopsy have some drawbacks for staging liver fibrosis. We aimed to investigated the value of T1ρ, DKI, and IVIM in assessment of liver fibrosis and established an optimal diagnostic model. Approach: Twenty four thioacetamide (TAA)-treated rats and six control rats were included in this experimental study. All rats were scanned with 3.0T MRI machine. Corresponding imaging parameters were measured and compared among different fibrosis stages. Results: T1ρ and MD derived from DKI had better diagnostic performance than other parameters. Their combination model further improved the diagnostic efficiency. Impact: T1ρ and DKI could easily incorporated into routine liver MR imaging. The model combining T1ρ and MD derived from DKI was promising to be a noninvasive biomarker to detect and accurately stage liver fibrosis in the clinical practice.