Motility mapping as evaluation tool for bowel motility: initial results on the development of an automated color-coding algorithm in cine MRI

Abstract

Purpose: To develop and implement an automated algorithm for visualizing and quantifying bowel motility using cine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Materials and methods: Four healthy volunteers as well as eight patients with suspected or diagnosed inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) underwent MR examinations on a 1.5T scanner. Coronal T2-weighted cine MR images were acquired in healthy volunteers without and with intravenous (i.v.) administration of butylscopolamine. In patients with IBD, cine MRI sequences were collected prior to standard bowel MRI. Bowel motility was assessed using an optical flow algorithm. The resulting motion vector magnitudes were presented as bowel motility maps. Motility changes after i.v. administration of butylscopolamine were measured in healthy volunteers. Inflamed bowel segments in patients were correlated with motility map findings.

Results: The acquisition of bowel motility maps was feasible in all subjects examined. In healthy volunteers butylscopolamine led to quantitatively measurable decrease in bowel motility (mean decrease of 59%; P = 0.171). In patients with IBD, visualization of bowel movement by color-coded motility mapping allowed for the detection of segments with abnormal bowel motility. Inflamed bowel segments could be identified by exhibiting a decreased motility.

Conclusion: Our method is a feasible and promising approach for the assessment of bowel motility disorders.

Keywords: algorithms; cine MRI; functional gastrointestinal disorders; gastrointestinal motility; inflammatory bowel diseases.