Objective      To explore the influence of 2 different injection speeds on the arterial phase image quality of liver in gadolinium ethoxybenzyl diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (Gd-EOB-DTPA)-enhanced MR imaging.       Methods      Hepatic arterial phase images were obtained after injecting Gd-EOB-DTPA contrast agent at 2 different injection speeds. Totally

106 patients performed Gd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced MR imaging from December 2012 to September 2013

and 52 patients were treated at the injection speed of 1 mL/s while 54 patients were treated at the injection speed of 1.5 mL/s. Two radiologists quantitatively evaluated the signal-to-noise (SNR) and contrast-enhancement ratio (CER) of enhanced liver parenchyma

abdominal aorta and common hepatic artery

and qualitatively evaluated the scores of 5 items including liver parenchyma

abdominal aorta

common hepatic artery

portal vein

image artifact and the total score of all the 5 items  in the hepatic arterial phase.       Results      The SNR and CER of liver parenchyma

abdominal aorta

and common hepatic artery had no significant difference between the 1 mL/s group and the 1.5 mL/s group (P0.05). The mean scores of the abdominal aorta and common hepatic artery and the total score of the 5 items in the 1 mL/s group were significantly higher than those in the 1.5 mL/s group (P0.05).       Conclusion      Based on the quantitative and qualitative evaluation

the image quality in the hepatic arterial phase is better when the injection speed of Gd-EOB-DTPA is 1 mL/s than that when the injection speed is 1.5 mL/s.