Monitoring Random Molecular Diffusion and Tissue Perfusion in Rat Liver by Diffusion Weighted Proton MRI

Beena George¹, Andriy Babsky¹, Navin Bansal¹

Diffusion weighted (DW) 1H MRI may be useful in the diagnosis of liver diseases. Fast and slow apparent diffusion coefficients (ADCfast and ADCslow, respectively) were separated in the normal rat liver by using ten b values. After mortal ischemia, ADCfast disappeared, demonstrating that this component results from microcapillary blood perfusion. ADCslow decreased after ischemia, most likely due to intracellular accumulation of water. DW 1H MRI can provide information about tissue perfusion and molecular diffusion which are both important physiological parameters.