Drug Modulation of ADC and IVIM Parameters in the Native Rat Kidney Measured Using Parallel Imaging with Standard Vendor Coils on a 1.5T Clinical System.

Neil Peter Jerome¹, Jessica K R Boult¹, Matthew Orton¹, David J. Collins¹, ², Simon P. Robinson¹, Dow-Mu Koh²

The superior hardware and development of clinical MR imaging systems make them attractive for preclinical studies; limited signal, and thus spatial resolution, for small animal work can in part be overcome by use of parallel imaging with combinations of vendor coils. We demonstrate the use of a clinical 1.5 T system in acquiring diffusion images of normal rat kidney with isotropic resolution 1.5 mm³, and show sensitivity to changes in diffusion and flow parameters obtained from fitting ADC and IVIM diffusion models following administration of hydralazine (systemic vasodilator), furosemide (loop diuretic), and angiotensin II (systemic vasoconstrictor).