Novel Application of Magnetic Resonance Flow Evaluation: Direct Visualization of Pancreatic Juice Movement and Its Clinical Impact

Researchers have explored the feasibility of studying pancreatic juice movement to aid in pathological evaluations of pancreatico-biliary diseases. However, assessment of pancreatic juice movement is difficult. The early measurement approach of pancreatic juice movement was direct measurement of pancreatic juice involved insertion of a tube into the main pancreatic duct. However, since this method is invasive and time-consuming, it is no longer used. A more common method to assess pancreatic juice movement is by magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP), which involves intravenous injection of secretin [1]. This method aids in the assessment of pancreatic juice movement by determining the change in the pancreatic or bile duct caliber before and after secretin injection; however, this method fails to demonstrate direct pancreatic juice movement. Therefore, the validity of this method for measurement of pancreatic juice movement is still controversial.