UMIN-CTR Clinical Trial

Using NT C-SENSE and BH C-SENSE for MRCP reduces the acquisition time. Although their use causes a significantly inferior visualization score of the intrahepatic duct, the following analyses showed that the image quality was not inferior to that obtained with NT SENSE at 1.5-T. In addition, the image availability of NT C-SENSE and BH C-SENSE depends on individual-related factors such as age.

The final study population consisted of 51 participants; 28 women (mean age, 69.7 years; range, 34-84 years) and 23 men (mean age 66.6 years; range, 38-85 years). Most participants had benign pancreatic disease.

 Of the 474 individuals who underwent MRCP with four MR systems in Kindai University Hospital between July and October 2018, consecutive 58 individuals undergoing MRCP with an MRI system available for CS were recruited for this study. Among them, one refused to participate. The other 57 participants were planned for three MRCP sequences including NT SENSE, NT C-SENSE, and BH C-SENSE. Six participants were excluded because they were disqualified according to the exclusion criteria. One dropped out after beginning the examination; two had no imaging data (the both were unable to hold their breath because of abdominal pain); three had liver lesions disrupted evaluation of hilar bile ducts (all had multiple liver cysts). The final study population consisted of 51 participants.

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1. We compared the three types of MRCP images using the signal intensities and the relative duct-to-periductal contrast ratios (RC values) of bile duct segments including the right intrahepatic bile duct (RHD), left intrahepatic bile duct (LHD), and common bile duct (CBD)using the relative duct-to-periductal contrast ratios.
2. The readers graded the visualization of the intrahepatic duct, common hepatic duct, cystic duct, CBD, and main pancreatic duct on a 5-point Likert scale.
3. The rates of participants with available images were compared among three MRCP methods according to individual-related factors including age, sex, history of chest or abdominal surgery, presence of pleural effusion or ascites, chest or cardiac comorbidities, poor physical condition on the day of MR acquisition, and factors possibly related to lack of communication (hearing impairment, anxiety state, or intellectual disability) in the context of whether the participant could follow the breathing instructions.