Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Hepatobiliary System Using Hepatocyte-Specific Contrast Media

Abstract: There are two Gadolinium-based liver-specific contrast media for Magnetic Resonance Imaging on the market, Gd-BOPTA (MultiHance®, Bracco Imaging, Milan, Italy) and Gd-EOB-DTPA (Primovist®, Bayer Schering Pharma, Berlin, Germany). The aim of this study in two parts was to evaluate the dynamics of biliary, parenchymal and vascular enhancement using these contrast media in healthy subjects. Ten healthy volunteers were examined in a 1.5 T magnetic resonance system using three-dimensional Volumetric Interpolated Breath-Hold (VIBE) sequences for dynamic imaging with both contrast media – at two different occasions – until five hours after injection. The doses given were 0.025 mmol/kg for Gd-EOB-DTPA and 0.1 mmol/kg for Gd-BOPTA. The enhancement over time of the common biliary duct in contrast to the liver parenchyma was analyzed in the first study. This was followed by a study of the image contrasts of the hepatic artery, portal vein and middle hepatic vein versus the liver parenchyma.While Gd-EOB-DTPA gave an earlier and more prolonged enhancement of the biliary duct, Gd-BOPTA achieved higher image contrast for all vessels studied, during the arterial and portal venous phases. There was no significant difference in the maximal enhancement obtained in the liver parenchyma.At the obtained time-points and at the dosage used, the high contrast between the common biliary duct and liver parenchyma had an earlier onset and longer duration for Gd-EOB-DTPA, while Gd-BOPTA achieved higher maximal enhancement of the hepatic artery, portal vein and middle hepatic vein than Gd-EOB-DTPA. Diseases of the liver and biliary system may affect the vasculature, parenchyma, biliary excretion or a combination of these. The clinical context regarding the relative importance of vascular, hepatic parenchymal and biliary processes should determine the choice of contrast media for each patient and examination.