Abstract.
The aim of this study was to demonstrate the feasibility of the absolute renal blood flow quantification using MRI and injection of contrast media. Using a T1-weighted fast gradient sequence following an intravenous bolus injection of Gd-DTPA, dynamic images of the kidney were obtained in patients with well-functioning native kidneys (n = 7) or transplant (n = 9), with significant renal artery stenosis (n = 4) and with renal failure (n = 7). After signal intensity calibration, the absolute renal perfusion was equal to the wash-in slope of the renal transit curve divided by the contrast medium concentration at the peak of the bolus in the aorta. The cortical blood flow was 2.54 ± 1.16 ml/min per gram in well-functioning kidneys decreasing to 1.09 ± 0.75 ml/min per gram in case of renal artery stenosis (p = 0.04) and to 0.51 ± 0.34 ml/min per gram in case of renal failure (p < 0.001). These measurements were in agreement with previous results obtained by other methods. A standard MRI imaging sequence and a simple model can provide realistic quantitative data on renal perfusion. This work justifies further studies to compare this model with a gold standard for renal blood flow measurements.
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Received: 9 September 1999; Revised: 31 January 2000; Accepted: 16 March 2000
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Vallée, JP., Lazeyras, F., Khan, H. et al. Absolute renal blood flow quantification by dynamic MRI and Gd-DTPA. Eur Radiol 10, 1245–1252 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1007/s003300000434
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s003300000434