Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Magnetic Resonance Imaging Cholangiopancreatography of the Pancreas in Small Animals

Abstract

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and MR cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) have emerged as non-invasive diagnostic techniques for the diagnosis of pancreatic and pancreatic duct disorders in humans. The number of studies focused on MR and MRCP for pancreatic disease in small animals is very limited. MR has been described for the evaluation of insulinoma in dogs and to investigate pancreatitis in cats. The studies were based on a standard protocol with T2 weighted (w) fast recovery fast spin-echo (FRFSE) with and without fat suppression, T1w FSE pre-contrast and T1w FSE post-contrast with and without fat suppression. MRCP after secretin stimulation has been described in cats to assess the pancreatic ductal system, taking advantage of pulse sequences heavily T2w as rapid acquisition with rapid enhancement (RARE), fast-recovery fast spin-echo (FRFSE) sequences and single-shot fast spin-echo (SSFSE) sequences. In addition to the standard protocol, fast spoiled gradient recalled echo pulse sequences (fSPGR) and volume interpolated 3D gradient-echo T1w pulse sequences pre and post-contrast have also been used in cats, reaching the goal of assessing the biliary tree and the pancreatic duct with the same sequence and in multiple planes. Despite the small amount of data, the results show potential, and the most recent technical innovations, in particular, focused on diffusion MRI and fast acquisition, further support the need for continued evaluation of MRI as an effective instrument for the investigation of pancreatic disease.

Double cholecystectomy of duplex gallbladder associated with chronic cholecystitis in a cat

“…Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) enable preoperative assessment of the biliary anatomy and provide superior diagnostic detail compared to ultrasonography and CT (Alratrout et al., 2018 ; Borghi et al., 2008 ; Gadour et al., 2021 ; Hishinuma et al., 2004 ; Khandelwal et al., 2011 ). MRCP is not an operator dependent investigation and it is not affected by the gas in the gastrointestinal tract; however, its use in the veterinary field has been very limited (Briola, 2022 ; Marolf et al., 2013 ). Preoperative identification of congenital gallbladder variants is crucial for surgical planning (Borghi et al., 2008 ; Khandelwal et al., 2011 ; Silvis et al., 1996 ).…”

Feasibility of Magnetic Resonance Cholangiopancreatography in Dogs—A Post-Mortem Study

“…Despite the existence of studies examining MR images and MRCP of the biliary tract and pancreatic ducts in healthy and diseased cats [11,12,26], there are no published investigations on MRCP in dogs. We compared the appearance and measurements of the biliary tract and pancreatic ducts acquired by MRCP with those obtained by post-mortem FRCP and corrosion casting.…”

Three‐dimensional magnetic resonance cholangiography is superior to two‐dimensional single‐shot magnetic resonance cholangiography for visualization and image quality of the feline and canine biliary tract: A postmortem study

“…13 A recent systematic review suggested a protocol for assessing pancreatic disorders in cats and dogs using MRI and MRCP. 14 Moreover, recent investigations have shown the feasibility of 3D-TSE-MRCP to visualize and assess the diameter of the biliary tract in the cadavers of cats and dogs, but visualization of ducts <1 mm, such as pancreatic ducts, was challenging using a 1.5 T MRI machine. 15,16 Based on these findings, the current study is focused only on magnetic resonance cholangiography (MRC).…”