Diffusion Metrics for Staging Liver Fibrosis: An Experimental Study in Rats with Bile Duct Ligation and Carbon Tetrachloride at 11.7 T MRI

As a common pathological feature of chronic liver diseases, liver fibrosis is a significant cause of global morbidity and mortality. An accurate assessment of the fibrosis stage and early detection of hepatic fibrosis are essential for preventing further adverse consequences. Our study suggests diffusion metrics are useful tools for noninvasively staging liver fibrosis. Among them, MK is a more valuable imaging biomarker for evaluating the degree of liver fibrosis, and f is less consistent in our two fibrosis models.