Functional MR Urography - Principles and Applications in Congenital Obstructive Uropathies

Abstract

Congenital obstructive Uropathies are a leading cause of Chronic Kidney Disease in children. The gold-standard for renal functional imaging is Diuretic Renal Scintigraphy. Different alternatives to Renal Scintigraphy have been suggested, many of them based on Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). The accurate morphologic details of MRI with its more specific application - MR-Urography are well known. The prospect of adding functional information is very attractive, as it will make the MRU a comprehensive “all in one” examination for obstructive uropathies. We chose to investigate DCE MR urography and DTI as tools for the evaluation of congenital obstructive uropathies. Also, we suggest a different technique that describes the urinary flow in the collecting system – phase contrast imaging of the urinary flow in the renal pelvis. Therefore we performed three different studies, all with different sets of patients.