Open AccessMagnetic resonance imaging assessment of renal flow distribution patterns during ex vivo normothermic machine perfusion in porcine and human kidneys
Author(s) -
Schutter Rianne,
Lantinga Veerle A.,
Hamelink Tim L.,
Pool Merel B. F.,
Varsseveld Otis C.,
Potze Jan Hendrik,
Hillebrands JanLuuk,
van den Heuvel Marius C.,
Dierckx Rudi A. J. O.,
Leuvenink Henri G. D.,
Moers Cyril,
Borra Ronald J. H.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
transplant international
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.998
H-Index - 82
eISSN - 1432-2277
pISSN - 0934-0874
DOI - 10.1111/tri.13991
Subject(s) - ex vivo , perfusion , medicine , machine perfusion , magnetic resonance imaging , kidney , in vivo , transplantation , renal cortex , kidney transplantation , perfusion scanning , distribution (mathematics) , cortex (anatomy) , nuclear medicine , pathology , radiology , neuroscience , biology , mathematical analysis , microbiology and biotechnology , mathematics , liver transplantation
Summary Acceptance criteria of deceased donor organs have gradually been extended toward suboptimal quality, posing an urgent need for more objective pre‐transplant organ assessment. Ex vivo normothermic machine perfusion (NMP) combined with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) could assist clinicians in deciding whether a donor kidney is suitable for transplantation. Aim of this study was to characterize the regional distribution of perfusate flow during NMP, to better understand how ex vivo kidney assessment protocols should eventually be designed. Nine porcine and 4 human discarded kidneys underwent 3 h of NMP in an MRI‐compatible perfusion setup. Arterial spin labeling scans were performed every 15 min, resulting in perfusion‐weighted images that visualize intrarenal flow distribution. At the start of NMP, all kidneys were mainly centrally perfused and it took time for the outer cortex to reach its physiological dominant perfusion state. Calculated corticomedullary ratios based on the perfusion maps reached a physiological range comparable to in vivo observations, but only after 1 to 2 h after the start of NMP. Before that, the functionally important renal cortex appeared severely underperfused. Our findings suggest that early functional NMP quality assessment markers may not reflect actual physiology and should therefore be interpreted with caution.