Determination of Apparent Diffusion Coefficient to Quantitatively Study Partial Hepatic Ischemia Reperfusion Injury in a Rabbit Model

Abstract Background Animal models of partial hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) have potential benefits for decision making and clinical management after liver transplantation or massive hepatic resection. We evaluated changes in apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) in rabbits with partial hepatic IRI using 3.0 T magnetic resonance diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI). Methods Rabbits underwent 60 minutes of left lobar ischemia followed by 0.5, 2, 6, 12, 24, or 48 hours of reperfusion (n = 6 each). DWI spin echo-echo planar imaging (SE-EPI) was performed with b values of 50, 100, 200, 300, 500, and 600 s/mm2. Results There was a significant difference between the ADCs at 0.5 hour and sham groups when b values were