Kevin Glaser

Intellectual property rights (e.g., royalties, patents, copyrights) not from the awardee Institution

Prediction of portal pressure with liver and spleen MR Elastography and 4D flow phase-contrast MRI

Project Narrative Portal hypertension, a common complication of liver cirrhosis, leads to the development of esophageal varices associated with a high risk of bleeding, ascites and renal dysfunction. The definite diagnosis of portal hypertension is based on the measurement of hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG), which involves the placement of a catheter in the internal jugular vein advanced to the level of the hepatic veins, which is invasive. In this proposal, we would like to validate noninvasive advanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques (including MR elastography to measure liver and spleen stiffness and advanced viscoelastic properties; and phase-contrast MRI to measure liver and spleen vascular flow) as markers of portal hypertension (HVPG ?5 mm Hg) and clinically significant portal hypertension (HVPG ? 10mm Hg) and degree of scarring in the liver parenchyma. These techniques could be used for diagnosis of portal hypertension, and could decrease the need of portal pressure measurements, which are invasive and not widely available. This could save costs and could benefit a large number of patients with liver disease.