Zhang Siyue, Pan Hanchao, Teng Yue, Li Guangzheng, Zhu Huabin, Li Yonggang, Li Rui
Department of Gastroenterology, First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, No. 899, Pinghai Road, Gusu District, Suzhou, 215006, Jiangsu Province, China.
Department of Radiology, First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, No. 899, Pinghai Road, Gusu District, Suzhou, 215006, Jiangsu Province, China.
Sci Rep. 2025 Jun 1;15(1):19189. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-01171-3.
Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) is the primary method for assessing the invasion depth of early esophageal cancer, though its capabilities are limited. To address this, we developed a compact endoluminal magnetic resonance (Endo-MR) coil equipped with a balloon and evaluated its imaging performance on pig esophagi. The inflatable balloon effectively maintains the esophageal morphology and reduces artifacts around the coil. Using T1-weighted and T2-weighted Endo-MR imaging, distinct esophageal layers, including the epithelial layer, lamina propria and muscularis mucosae, submucosa, muscularis propria, and adventitia, were identified, with superior contrast in T2-weighted images. Thermal injuries to the mucosa showed clear morphological correlation with Endo-MR images, enabling depth of invasion assessment via signal layer continuity. Compared to EUS, Endo-MR provided greater imaging stability in ex vivo environment (P < 0.01). These findings demonstrate that Endo-MR offers high spatial resolution and stable image quality, enabling detailed visualization of fine esophageal microstructures and small lesions, thus holding promising potential for clinical diagnosis.
内镜超声（EUS）是评估早期食管癌浸润深度的主要方法，但其能力有限。为了解决这个问题，我们开发了一种配备球囊的紧凑型腔内磁共振（Endo-MR）线圈，并评估了其在猪食管上的成像性能。可充气球囊有效地保持了食管形态并减少了线圈周围的伪影。使用T1加权和T2加权的Endo-MR成像，可以识别出不同的食管层，包括上皮层、固有层和黏膜肌层、黏膜下层、固有肌层和外膜，T2加权图像中的对比度更高。黏膜的热损伤与Endo-MR图像显示出明显的形态学相关性，从而能够通过信号层的连续性评估浸润深度。与EUS相比，Endo-MR在离体环境中提供了更高的成像稳定性（P < 0.01）。这些发现表明，Endo-MR具有高空间分辨率和稳定的图像质量，能够详细显示精细的食管微观结构和小病变，因此在临床诊断方面具有广阔的应用前景。
