Towards a Comprehensive Morphological, Dynamic and Functional MRI Investigation of the Pediatric Bowel at 0.55T

Kitzberger M, Aviles Verdera J, Bieling F, Schulz-Heise S, Schmidt S, Knieling F, Rowald A, Diez S, Hutter J (2026)

Publication Type: Conference contribution

Publication year: 2026

Journal

Lecture Notes in Computer Science Springer Verlag

Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH

Book Volume: 16118 LNCS

Pages Range: 200-210

Conference Proceedings Title: Lecture Notes in Computer Science

Event location: Daejeon KR

ISBN: 9783032059963

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-032-05997-0_18

Abstract

Peristalsis is critical for gastrointestinal (GI) function and is often impaired in pediatric conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease and functional motility disorders. Existing diagnostic approaches for assessing bowel motility in children are frequently invasive, involve radiation, or provide only indirect insights. Sacral neuromodulation is a promising therapy to modulate GI motility, but its mechanisms remain poorly understood. This study paves the way for a comprehensive, contrast-free and radiation-free 0.55T MRI protocol for noninvasive anatomical, dynamic, and functional imaging of bowel motility in children with chronic constipation. Five pediatric patients (ages 4–11) were scanned using a protocol including anatomical, dynamic cine, and quantitative (T2*, diffusion-weighted) imaging. Bowel motility was quantified using optical flow-derived Jacobian determinant maps, and tissue microstructure was assessed with T2* and ADC maps. The full protocol was completed in all children. Motility measurements showed regional and inter-individual variation, with transverse colon motility ranging from 0.0014 to 0.0056 and small bowel from 0.0018 to 0.0093. This work demonstrates the feasibility of non-invasive, motion-resolved bowel imaging at 0.55T in children and provides a foundation for future studies linking motility to neural control and guiding individualized neuromodulation therapies.

Authors with CRIS profile

Michael Kitzberger Institute of Radiology Jordina Aviles Verdera Institute of Radiology Frederike Bieling Department of Paediatric Surgery Susanne Schulz-Heise Institute of Radiology Ferdinand Knieling Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine Andreas Rowald Professur für Digital Health Sonja Diez Department of Paediatric Surgery Jana Hutter Professur für Smart Imaging and Data Profiling (Heisenberg-Professur)

How to cite

APA:

Kitzberger, M., Aviles Verdera, J., Bieling, F., Schulz-Heise, S., Schmidt, S., Knieling, F.,... Hutter, J. (2026). Towards a Comprehensive Morphological, Dynamic and Functional MRI Investigation of the Pediatric Bowel at 0.55T. In Daphna Link-Sourani, Esra Abaci Turk, Wietske Bastiaansen, Jana Hutter, Andrew Melbourne, Roxane Licandro (Eds.), Lecture Notes in Computer Science (pp. 200-210). Daejeon, KR: Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH.

MLA:

Kitzberger, Michael, et al. "Towards a Comprehensive Morphological, Dynamic and Functional MRI Investigation of the Pediatric Bowel at 0.55T." Proceedings of the 10th International Workshop on Perinatal, Preterm and Paediatric Image Analysis, PIPPI 2025, Held in Conjunction with 28th International Conference on Medical Imaging and Computer Assisted Intervention, MICCAI 2025, Daejeon Ed. Daphna Link-Sourani, Esra Abaci Turk, Wietske Bastiaansen, Jana Hutter, Andrew Melbourne, Roxane Licandro, Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH, 2026. 200-210.

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