PURPOSE: To evaluate the biliary enhancement dynamics of the two gadolinium chelates Gd-BOPTA (MultiHance) and Gd-EOB-DTPA (Primovist) in normal healthy subjects. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Ten healthy volunteers were evaluated with both agents by magnetic resonance (MR) imaging at 1.5T using a breath-hold gradient-echo T1-weighted VIBE sequence. The relative signal intensity (SI) differences between the common hepatic duct (CHD) and liver parenchyma were measured before and 10, 20, 30, 40, 130, 240, and 300 min after contrast medium injection. RESULTS: Biliary enhancement was obvious 10 min post-injection for Gd-EOB-DTPA and was noted at 20 min for Gd-BOPTA. At 40 min delay, Gd-BOPTA reached its peak biliary enhancement, but at neither 30 nor 40 min delay was there any significant difference compared with that of Gd-EOB-DTPA. At later delays, the contrast between CHD and liver continued to increase for Gd-EOB-DTPA, whereas it decreased for Gd-BOPTA. CONCLUSION: The earlier onset and longer duration of a high contrast between CHD and liver for Gd-EOB-DTPA facilitates examination of hepatobiliary excretion. Therefore, Gd-EOB-DTPA may provide adequate hepatobiliary imaging within a shorter time span than Gd-BOPTA and facilitate scheduling at the MR unit. Further studies in patients are required to compare the imaging advantages of Gd-EOB-DTPA and Gd-BOPTA in clinical practice.

Objectives   To develop and evaluate a procedure for quantifying the hepatocyte-specific uptake of Gd-BOPTA and Gd-EOB-DTPA using dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) MRI. Methods   Ten healthy volunteers were prospectively recruited and 21 patients with suspected hepatobiliary disease were retrospectively evaluated. All subjects were examined with DCE-MRI using 0.025 mmol/kg of Gd-EOB-DTPA. The healthy volunteers underwent an additional examination using 0.05 mmol/kg of Gd-BOPTA. The signal intensities (SI) of liver and spleen parenchyma were obtained from unenhanced and enhanced acquisitions. Using pharmacokinetic models of the liver and spleen, and an SI rescaling procedure, a hepatic uptake rate, K _Hep, estimate was derived. The K _Hep values for Gd-EOB-DTPA were then studied in relation to those for Gd-BOPTA and to a clinical classification of the patient’s hepatobiliary dysfunction. Results   K _Hep estimated using Gd-EOB-DTPA showed a significant Pearson correlation with K _Hep estimated using Gd-BOPTA (r = 0.64; P < 0.05) in healthy subjects. Patients with impaired hepatobiliary function had significantly lower K _Hep than patients with normal hepatobiliary function (K _Hep = 0.09 ± 0.05 min^-1 versus K _Hep = 0.24 ± 0.10 min⁻¹; P < 0.01). Conclusions   A new procedure for quantifying the hepatocyte-specific uptake of T ₁-enhancing contrast agent was demonstrated and used to show that impaired hepatobiliary function severely influences the hepatic uptake of Gd-EOB-DTPA. Key Points   • The liver uptake of contrast agents may be measured with standard clinical MRI. • Calculation of liver contrast agent uptake is improved by considering splenic uptake. • Liver function affects the uptake of the liver-specific contrast agent Gd-EOB-DTPA. • Hepatic uptake of two contrast agents (Gd-EOB-DTPA, Gd-BOPTA) is correlated in healthy individuals. • This method can be useful for determining liver function, e.g. before hepatic surgery