Ann S Choe^1,2,3, Bohao Tang⁴, Kimberly R. Smith⁵, Hamed Honari⁶, Martin A. Lindquist⁴, Brian S. Caffo⁴, and James J. Pekar^1,3
1F.M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, United States, ²International Center for Spinal Cord Injury, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, United States, ³Department of Radiology, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States, ⁴Department of Biostatistics, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, United States, ⁵Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States, ⁶Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States

Combining concurrent cutaneous electrogastrography (EGG) with resting-state fMRI (rsfMRI), we estimated resting-state brain networks from the rsfMRI data using independent component analysis, then used the amplitude-weighted Phase-Locking Value to assess whether those networks were synchronized with the intrinsic gastric rhythm estimated from the EGG data. We found 18 resting-state brain networks, of which 11 were found to be partially but significantly phase synchronized with the gastric rhythm. Disruptions to the gut-brain axis are thought to be involved in various disorders; manifestation of the infra-slow rhythm of the stomach in brain rsfMRI data could be useful for studies in clinical populations.

Xiaokai Wang¹, Jiayue Cao¹, Minkyu Choi², and Zhongming Liu^3
1Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States, ²Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States, ³Biomedical Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States

Contrast-enhanced gastrointestinal MRI serves as a non-invasive tool for studying and assessing gastric functions. Previous studies generally have their home-brewed semi-automatic algorithm for assessing gastric motility. This process is time-consuming and susceptible to errors. Here, we used deep learning to establish a fully automatic pipeline for assessing gastric motility with contrast-enhanced gastrointestinal MRI in rats. We cross-validated our analysis against simultaneously recorded electrogastrogram indicating gastric myoelectrical activity. Results from this analysis are consistent with electrogastrogram in terms of time, frequency, and power, and in addition, shed light on more detailed spatial characteristics of gastric motility. 

Sonal Krishan¹, Aparajita Pradhan², and Shafi Kuchay^3
1Radiology, Medanta Hospital, Gurgaon, India, ²Medanta Hospital, Gurgaon, India, ³Endocrinology, Medanta Hospital, Gurgaon, India

Aim of this study was to quantify liver (LFC)  and pancreatic fat content  (PFC) in subjects with and without type 2 diabetes (DM) as measured by MRI-PDFF. 25 adult patients who had recently diagnosed DM were compared with control group of 37 without DM. All underwent MRI PDFF for evaluation of LFC and PFC. The mean LFC in DM group was more: 12.1 % (8-20) vs Non-DM 6.7% (4.2-10.7).The overall prevalence of NAFLD in our study, was 72.6% (45/62 patients).In DM subgroup the NAFLD prevalence was more-88.0%. MRI PDFF can be a screening tool for NAFLD in patients with DM. 

Naomi S Sakai¹, Kusuma Chaiyasoot¹, Alan Bainbridge², Margaret Hall-Craggs¹, Rachel L Batterham¹, and Stuart A Taylor^1
1University College London, London, United Kingdom, ²University College London Hospitals, London, United Kingdom

Bariatric surgery can lead to rapid and substantial improvements in glycaemic control, often before significant weight loss has occurred. However, a proportion of patients do not achieve type 2 diabetes (T2D) remission after surgery despite significant post-surgical weight loss. Ectopic fat deposition and alterations in body composition are implicated in T2D pathoaetiology. Quantitative MRI (qMRI) can provide non-invasive measurements of ectopic organ fat and body composition which may have roles as predictors of T2D remission after bariatric surgery. This study aimed to assess the relationship between T2D remission status and qMRI-derived measurements of ectopic fat and body composition.

Jitka Starekova¹, Lloyd Estkowski², Ruiqi Geng^1,3, Yuxin Zhang^1,3, Diego Hernando^1,3, and Scott B Reeder^1,3,4,5,6
1Radiology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States, ²Global MR Applications and Workflow GE Healthcare, Madison, WI, United States, ³Medical Physics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States, ⁴Biomedical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States, ⁵Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States, ⁶Emergency Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States

Esophageal MRI is emerging alternative to endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) and computed tomography (CT) for the detection and staging of cancer. Esophageal MRI has great potential for screening, active surveillance post-neodjuvant therapy and ruling out surgery for patients with higher stage cancer. The major challenges in esophageal imaging are the spatial resolution, as the esophageal wall is only approximately 3mm thick, and cardiac related motion artifacts. This prospective study aimed to address these challenges by developing a protocol for high-resolution T2-weighted and motion-robust diffusion-weighted imaging of the esophagus and periesophageal tissue. 

Neele S Dellschaft^1,2, Caroline Hoad^1,2, Christabella Ng^2,3, Luca Marciani^2,4, Robin Spiller^2,4, Alan Smyth^2,3, Giles Major^2,4, and Penny Gowland^1,2
1Sir Peter Mansfield Imaging Centre, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom, ²Nottingham NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom, ³Division of Child Health, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom, ⁴Nottingham Digestive Diseases Centre, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom

Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is a genetic disease leading to sticky mucus, slower small bowel transit and maldigestion. We used MRI to characterize gastrointestinal function in CF. Changes in the image texture suggested increased bacterial load in the small bowel, which we have now quantified applying Haralick texture analysis. The difference in texture observed between small bowel and colon chyme in healthy subjects was less distinct in people with CF (Control median 2.11 a.u. [IQR 0.71, 3.30] v.CF 0.90 a.u. [0.38, 1.67], Wilcoxon P=0.010). This compared well to subjective analysis. These findings probably indicate overgrowth of colonic bacteria and maldigestion.

Yufei Zhao^1,2, Yang Jiang^1,2, Jingyue Dai^1,2, Honghong Wu^1,2, Ying Cui^1,2, Xinxiang Li^1,2, and Xingui Peng^1,2
1Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Molecular and Functional Imaging, Southeast University, Nanjing, China, ²Radiology, Zhongda Hospital Southeast University, Nanjing, China

T1ρ magnetic resonance can non-invasively assess the changes in the distribution of myofiber in male T2DM patients and this changes is gradually obvious as the course of the disease progresses.

Jill T Shah¹, Katherine Medina^2,3, Haresh R Rajamohan^2,4, Justin Ho^2,3, Cem M Deniz^2,3, and Ryan Brown^2,3
1New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States, ²Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States, ³Center for Advanced Imaging Innovation and Research (CAI2R), Department of Radiology, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States, ⁴Center for Data Science, New York University, New York, NY, United States

Diabetes mellitus, muscular dystrophies, and other pathologies are characterized by metabolic impairment that can lead to lower extremity muscle degeneration. While MRI provides access to quantitative biomarkers to characterize muscle quality, analysis requires time-consuming manual image segmentation. To address this problem, we developed an automated segmentation algorithm based on a convolutional neural network that provided high dice similarity coefficient scores (>0.92) in the gastrocnemius medial, gastrocnemius lateral, and soleus muscles. We utilized the automatic segmentations to show volumetric fat fraction was elevated in individuals with diabetic peripheral neuropathy compared to controls in the soleus and gastrocnemius medial muscles (P<0.05).

Erin K Englund¹, Deirdre Rafferty², Jie Zheng³, Hongyu An³, Judith G Regensteiner^2,4, Alex J Barker^1,5, and Jane EB Reusch^2,4
1Department of Radiology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, United States, ²Department of Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, United States, ³Department of Radiology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, United States, ⁴Center for Women’s Health Research, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, United States, ⁵Department of Bioengineering, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, United States

Oxygen extraction fraction (OEF) provides insight into muscle oxygen consumption. As part of a larger exercise training study, 16 sedentary participants (12 controls, 4 with diabetes) underwent an MRI scan to determine OEF before and after 15 weeks of supervised exercise training. Pilot MRI data were acquired at rest with an asymmetric spin echo sequence and used to calculate OEF in the medial gastrocnemius muscle. Cardiovascular exercise capacity, measured as VO₂Peak, was reduced in people with diabetes. MRI-measured OEF did not differ between groups, however a decrease in OEF was observed in all participants in response to exercise training.

Galina E Pavlovskaya^1,2, Christopher J Philp¹, Thomas Meersmann¹, Petra Hanson^3,4, Harpal S Randeva^4,5, Paul Paul O’Hare^4,5, and Thomas Barber^4,5
1SPMIC/Medicine, Univeristy of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom, ²4Nottingham NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, Nottingham, United Kingdom, ³Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, Warwick, United Kingdom, ⁴2Warwickshire Institute for the Study of Diabetes Endocrinology and Metabolism, University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire, Coventry, United Kingdom, ⁵Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, Coventry, United Kingdom

We reveal intriguing experimental results providing the evidence for dermal space storage for sodium,  and how dynamics of the space changes in patients with Type2 Diabetes Mellitus.