Regional time-based functional imaging of hepatocyte function.

Hepatocyte function was analyzed following the injection of 5 mCi of Tc-99m disofenin by the computer generation of three kinds of functional images designed to portray regional rates of hepatic uptake. Nineteen patients were analyzed, of whom eight had no overt liver disease, five had active hepatitis, five had cirrhosis, and one had acute cholecystitis. Functional images were graded according to lack of regional homogeneity of accumulation. Uptake kinetics were found to be significantly more homogeneous in normal subjects, becoming increasingly heterogeneous in hepatitis and cirrhosis patients, respectively. Thus functional imaging may provide a tool for the quantitative analysis of parenchymal disruption in liver disease.