Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2024 Aug;60(2):417-440.
doi: 10.1002/jmri.29086. Epub 2023 Nov 1.

Application of Intravoxel Incoherent Motion in Clinical Liver Imaging: A Literature Review

Qi Wang  1 , Guanghui Yu  2 , Jianfeng Qiu  2 , Weizhao Lu  1
Affiliations
Review

Application of Intravoxel Incoherent Motion in Clinical Liver Imaging: A Literature Review

Qi Wang et al. J Magn Reson Imaging. 2024 Aug.

Abstract

Intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) modeling is a widely used double-exponential model for describing diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) signal, with a slow component related to pure molecular diffusion and a fast component associated with microcirculatory perfusion, which compensates for the limitations of traditional DWI. IVIM is a noninvasive technique for obtaining liver pathological information and characterizing liver lesions, and has potential applications in the initial diagnosis and treatment monitoring of liver diseases. Recent studies have demonstrated that IVIM-derived parameters are useful for evaluating liver lesions, including nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), liver fibrosis and liver tumors. However, the results are not stable. Therefore, it is necessary to summarize the current applications of IVIM in liver disease research, identify existing shortcomings, and point out the future development direction. In this review, we searched for studies related to hepatic IVIM-DWI applications over the past two decades in the PubMed database. We first introduce the fundamental principles and influential factors of IVIM, and then discuss its application in NAFLD, liver fibrosis, and focal hepatic lesions. It has been found that IVIM is still unstable in ensuring the robustness and reproducibility of measurements in the assessment of liver fibrosis grade and liver tumors differentiation, due to inconsistent and substantial overlap in the range of IVIM-derived parameters for different fibrotic stages. In the end, the future direction of IVIM-DWI in the assessment of liver diseases is discussed, emphasizing the need for further research on the stability of IVIM-derived parameters, particularly perfusion-related parameters, in order to promote the clinical practice of IVIM-DWI. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 5 TECHNICAL EFFICACY: Stage 3.

Keywords: diffusion weighted imaging (DWI); fatty liver disease; focal hepatic lesions; intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM); liver diseases; liver fibrosis; liver tumor.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Taouli B, Koh DM. Diffusion‐weighted MR imaging of the liver. Radiology 2010;254(1):47‐66.
    1. Le Bihan D, Breton E, Lallemand D, Aubin ML, Vignaud J, Laval‐Jeantet M. Separation of diffusion and perfusion in intravoxel incoherent motion MR imaging. Radiology 1988;168(2):497‐505.
    1. Lewis S, Dyvorne H, Cui Y, Taouli B. Diffusion‐weighted imaging of the liver: Techniques and applications. Magn Reson Imaging Clin N Am 2014;22(3):373‐395.
    1. Hauser T, Essig M, Jensen A, et al. Characterization and therapy monitoring of head and neck carcinomas using diffusion‐imaging‐based intravoxel incoherent motion parameters‐preliminary results. Neuroradiology 2013;55(5):527‐536.
    1. Le Bihan D, Breton E, Lallemand D, Grenier P, Cabanis E, Laval‐Jeantet M. MR imaging of intravoxel incoherent motions: Application to diffusion and perfusion in neurologic disorders. Radiology 1986;161(2):401‐407.

MeSH terms