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Radiology turns to blueberry juice for a sharper MRI
Pamela Fayerman, Vancouver Sun
Published: Wednesday, May 09, 2007
It's a trendy drink among health-conscious people who like to pack a wallop of antioxidants while quenching their thirsts, but radiology experts have also latched on to blueberry juice -- as a drink to give patients before undergoing magnetic resonance imaging scans on their bile ducts.

According to research originally conducted in Japan blueberry juice is effective as a contrast agent to improve, or delineate, the structures of the stomach, duodenum, small bowel, large bowel, pancreas and bile ducts.

That's because blueberry juice is rich in manganese.


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Linda James, a technologist at St. Paul's Hospital, holds up containers of blueberry juice that is given to patients before undergoing magnetic resonance imaging scans on their bile ducts.
Mark Van Manen, Vancouver Sun

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Font: ****The metal is an essential element in our diet.

Dr. David Hodges, a radiologist who is medical director of MedRay MRI clinic in Coquitlam, said while manganese does not have magnetic properties of its own, it "exhibits strong magnetic properties when exposed to an external magnetic field, such as what one encounters inside an MRI scanner."

The juice helps to isolate the parts -- especially in the intricate bile duct system -- which radiologists want to see by creating a greater signal on the MRI screen. The juice also helps to remove from the image stomach fluids which only get in the way of the area radiologists want to isolate. It does that by darkening the fluid in the stomach, which, without the juice, would glow bright on the image.

Bile ducts are like the drainage pipes that carry a mix of cholesterol, acids, salts and waste from the liver to the gallbladder and then from the gallbladder to the small intestine. Bile is used in the digestive process to break down fats. The gallbladder stores bile and then releases it into the small intestine to help with the digestion of food.

MRI is useful for a number of diseases which can affect the bile ducts, including gallstones, tumours and inflammatory conditions.

"Normally, the fluid in the stomach is always in the way and degrades the image," said Wayne Patola, a supervisor in St. Paul's Hospital's MRI department who introduced blueberry juice after attending radiology conferences where its benefits were being touted.

"Blueberry juice given orally will affect the way the stomach fluid behaves on MRI and effectively remove it from appearing on the image. This allows for better visualization of the bile ducts," he said.

While there are other drinks, called contrast agents, which may be used for imaging scans, they are often unpalatable so "it's nice to give patients something to drink that they actually enjoy."

Dr. Bruce Forster, head of MRI for Vancouver Coastal Health, said blueberry juice is not yet being used at Vancouver General.

"I would say they probably do more of these at St. Paul's than anywhere else and Wayne [Patola] is a very smart guy who stays on top of things so good for him for introducing something novel, cheap and harmless as a contrast agent," he said.

The juice being used is called TrueBlue, a widely available brand manufactured by a Richmond beverage company called Leading Brands, which is now in the process of relocating its equipment and plant to Edmonton.

Sun Health Issues Reporter

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