ORIGINAL RESEARCH Phase-Contrast MR Flow Imaging: A Tool to Determine Hepatic Hemodynamics in Rats with a Healthy, Fibrotic, or Cirrhotic Liver Denise Schaffner, MSc, 1,2,3 Dominik von Elverfeldt, PhD, 2,4 Peter Deibert, MD, 1,2 Adhara Lazaro, MD, MSc, 1,2 Irmgard Merfort, PhD, 3 Lisa Lutz, MD, 2,5 Jakob Neubauer, MD, 2,6 Manfred W. Baumstark, PhD, 1,2 Wolfgang Kreisel, MD, 2,7 and Wilfried Reichardt, MD 2,4,8,9 Purpose: To test a magnetic resonance (MR) scanning protocol as a noninvasive tool to determine hepatic hemodynamics and to assess the degree of liver fibrosis in an animal model of liver fibrosis and cirrhosis. Materials and Methods: Fifty-four male Wistar rats were studied. Thirty-nine received thioacetamide (TAA) in their drinking water for either 12 or 16 weeks. MR measurements were performed using flow-sensitive 2D phase-contrast MRI and a 9.4T preclinical scanner. The following hemodynamic parameters were investigated: portal cross-sectional area, mean portal flow velocity, and portal and aortic flow volume rate. Therefore, rats (n 5 46) were divided into three groups: CON (control, n 5 13), FIB (fibrosis, n 5 25), and CIR (cirrhosis, n 5 8). Furthermore, the degree of liver fibrosis was assessed by a self-established MR score and verified by a standardized histological score (n 5 48). Results: Portal and aortic flow parameters could be reliably detected. A significant decrease in portal flow velocity was found in FIB (FIB vs. CON: –21%, P 5 0.006 and CIR vs. CON: –17%, P 5 0.105) and in portal flow volume rate in FIB and CIR (FIB vs. CON: –20%, P 5 0.009 and CIR vs. CON: –25%, P 5 0.024). If the histological score is taken as standard, the self- established MR score enabled discrimination between healthy and diseased livers (sensitivity to identify diseased livers: 89% and specificity to identify healthy livers: 100%). Conclusion: This MR scanning protocol presents a noninvasive tool to determine hepatic hemodynamics in healthy and diseased rats. Level of Evidence: 2 J. MAGN. RESON. IMAGING 2017;00:000–000. L iver cirrhosis is one of the most frequent chronic liver diseases worldwide. 1 It is characterized by a decreasing metabolic function of the liver and portal hypertension, a specific vascular disorder. 2 Portal hypertension, defined as abnormally increased portal blood pressure, is caused by intrahepatic mechanical and functional factors, and increased portal blood flow towards the liver due to dilation of arterial splanchnic vessels. 2 The combination of impaired liver function and portal hypertension with pathological splanchnic vasodilation mediates the development of the “hyperdynamic syndrome” in advanced stages of liver cir- rhosis. 3,4 The splanchnic and systemic circulatory abnormal- ities in turn contribute to the maintenance or even worsening of portal hypertension. 5,6 An accurate evaluation tool of hepatic and systemic hemodynamic status in chronic liver diseases is thus essential to prevent or treat the sequelae View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com. DOI: 10.1002/jmri.25677 Received Nov 29, 2016, Accepted for publication Feb 1, 2017. *Address reprint requests to: D.S., Hugstetterstr. 55, 79106, Freiburg, Germany. E-mail: denise.schaffner@uniklinik-freiburg.de From the 1 Institute for Exercise- und Occupational Medicine, Medical Center, University of Freiburg, Germany; 2 Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Germany; 3 Department of Pharmaceutical Biology and Biotechnology, University of Freiburg, Germany; 4 Department of Radiology, Medical Physics, Medical Center, University of Freiburg, Germany; 5 Institute of Clinical Pathology, Medical Center, University of Freiburg, Germany; 6 Department of Radiology, Medical Center, University of Freiburg, Germany; 7 Department of Medicine II, Gastroenterology, Hepatology, Endocrinology and Infectious Diseases, Medical Center, University of Freiburg, Germany; 8 German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Heidelberg, Germany; and 9 German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany V C 2017 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine 1