| Signal suppression of the gastrointestinal tract fluids in magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) has
been performed using various natural and chemical substances with the different MRCP pulse sequences. This study
aimed to investigate the signal suppressions of the grape syrup and the grape syrup/lemon aqueous solutions in MRCP
using the heavily T2-weighted sequences. For this purpose, the potassium, iron and manganese contents of grape syrup
were measured by atomic absorption spectroscopy. The grape syrup and the grape syrup/lemon solutions with the
various grape syrup percentages were imaged using the heavily T2-weighted sequences of MRCP such as T2 HASTE
thick slab and T2 SPACE. MRCP in the volunteers was performed before and 10 minutes after oral administration of
the grape syrup solution. The concentrations of potassium, iron, and manganese in grape syrup were 34.8, 2.4 and 1
mg/l, respectively. The in vitro study showed significantly lower signal to noise ratio using the grape syrup samples
comparing to the grape syrup/lemon. The effective signal suppression for the in vitro study and considerable
enhancement of negative contrast in the post-contrast MRCP was obtained using a T2 HASTE thick slab sequence. As a
conclusion, the grape syrup solution can be used for signal suppression of the gastrointestinal tract fluid in MRCP as an
oral negative contrast material. A T2 HASTE thick slab sequence produces suitable contrast in MRCP images using the
grape syrup solution. |