Quantification of distal antral contractile motility in healthy human stomach with magnetic resonance imaging

Purpose To quantify healthy postprandial: 1) propagation, periodicity, geometry, and percentage occlusion by distal antral contraction waves (ACWs); and 2) changes in ACW activity in relationship to gastric emptying (GE). Materials and Methods Using 1.5‐T MR scanner, nine healthy fasted volunteers were examined in the right decubitus position after ingestion of 500 mL of 10% glucose (200 kcal) with 500 μM Gd‐DOTA. Total gastric (TGV) and meal volumes (MV) were assessed every five minutes for 90 minutes, in and interspersed with dynamic scan sequences (duration: 2.78 minutes) providing detailed images of distal ACWs. Results TGV increased by 738 ± 38 mL after ingestion (t0), subsequently decreasing in parallel to GE. The mean GE rate and half‐emptying time were 24 ± 3 mL/5 minutes and 71 ± 6 minutes, respectively. Accompanying ACWs reached a periodicity of 23 ± 2 seconds at t35 and propagated at an unvarying speed of 0.27 ± 0.01 cm/second. Their amplitude of 0.70 ± 0.08 cm was constant, but the width decreased along the antral wall by 6 ± 2%/cm (P = 0.003). ACWs were nonocclusive (percentage occlusion 58.1 ± 5.9%, t0 at the pylorus) with a reduction in occlusion away from the pylorus (P < 0.001). No propagation and geometry characteristics of ACWs correlated with the changes of MV (mL/5 minutes; R2 < 0.05). Conclusion Our results indicate that ACWs are not imperative for emptying of liquids. This study provides a detailed quantitative reference for MRI inquiries into pharmacologically‐ and pathologically‐altered gastric motility. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.