Purpose To demonstrate the feasibility of PC-VIPR (Phase Contrast Vastly undersampled Imaging with Projection Reconstruction) for the depiction and hemodynamic analysis of hepatic and splanchnic vessels in patients with portal hypertension. Methods & Materials 24 cirrhotic patients (55.9±10.4years) were scanned using 5-point PC-VIPR for high spatial resolution imaging with large volume coverage at 3T using a 32-channel body coil. Vessel segmentation and hemodynamic visualization included color-coded 3D streamlines and particle traces. Segmentation quality was compared to contrast-enhanced multi-phase liver imaging. Flow pattern analysis was performed in consensus of 3 readers. The MELD score was calculated to estimate disease severity and was correlated to image quality. Results Good to excellent visualization quality was achieved in 23/24 cases. All arterial vessels and 144/168 vessels of the portal venous (PV) circulation were unambiguously identified. No correlation with the MELD score was found. 8/148 vessels of the PV circulation demonstrated reverse (hepatofugal) flow. Hepatofugal flow small tributaries to PV flow were present in three cases despite hepatopetal flow in the PV. Conclusion This feasibility study demonstrates the feasibility of PC-VIPR for simultaneous morphological and hemodynamic assessment of the hepatic and splanchnic vasculature in cirrhosis and portal hypertension. Future studies with quantitative analyses are warranted.

Purpose: To demonstrate the feasibility of PC‐VIPR (Phase Contrast Vastly undersampled Imaging with Projection Reconstruction) for the depiction and hemodynamic analysis of hepatic and splanchnic vessels in patients with portal hypertension. Materials and Methods: Twenty‐four cirrhotic patients (55.9 ± 10.4years) were scanned using 5‐point PC‐VIPR for high spatial resolution imaging with large volume coverage at 3 Tesla (T) using a 32‐channel body coil. Vessel segmentation and hemodynamic visualization included color‐coded three‐dimensional (3D) streamlines and particle traces. Segmentation quality was compared with contrast‐enhanced multi‐phase liver imaging. Flow pattern analysis was performed in consensus of three readers. The MELD score was calculated to estimate disease severity and was correlated to image quality. Results: Good to excellent visualization quality was achieved in 23/24 cases. All arterial vessels and 144/168 vessels of the portal venous (PV) circulation were unambiguously identified. No correlation with the MELD score was found. Eight of 148 vessels of the PV circulation demonstrated reverse (hepatofugal) flow. Hepatofugal flow in small tributaries to PV flow were present in three cases despite hepatopetal flow in the PV. Conclusion: This feasibility study demonstrates the feasibility of PC‐VIPR for simultaneous morphological and hemodynamic assessment of the hepatic and splanchnic vasculature in cirrhosis and portal hypertension. Future studies with quantitative analyses are warranted. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2011;. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.