Vascular assessment of liver disease—towards a new frontier in MRI

Abstract

Complex haemodynamic phenomena underpin the pathophysiology of chronic liver disease. Non-invasive MRI-based assessment of hepatic vascular parameters therefore has the potential to yield meaningful biomarkers for chronic liver disease. In this review, we provide an overview of vascular sequelae of chronic liver disease amenable to imaging evaluation and describe the current supportive evidence, strengths and the limitations of MRI methodologies, including dynamic contrast-enhanced, dynamic hepatocyte-specific contrast-enhanced, phase-contrast, arterial spin labelling and MR elastography in the assessment of hepatic vascular parameters. We review the broader challenges of quantitative hepatic vascular MRI, including the difficulties of motion artefact, complex post-processing, long acquisition times, validation and limitations of pharmacokinetic models, alongside the potential solutions that will shape the future of MRI and deliver this new frontier to the patient bedside.