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Simultaneous Multislice Accelerated Free-Breathing Diffusion-Weighted Imaging of the Liver at 3T

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Abstract

Purpose: To perform image quality comparison between accelerated multiband diffusion acquisition (mb2-DWI) and conventional diffusion acquisition (c-DWI) in patients undergoing clinically indicated liver MRI. Methods: In this prospective study 22 consecutive patients undergoing clinically indicated liver MRI on a 3-T scanner equipped to perform multiband diffusion-weighed imaging (mb-DWI) were included. DWI was performed with single-shot spin-echo echo-planar technique with fat-suppression in free breathing with matching parameters when possible using c-DWI, mb-DWI, and multiband DWI with a twofold acceleration (mb2-DWI). These diffusion sequences were compared with respect to various parameters of image quality, lesion detectability, and liver ADC measurements. Results: Accelerated mb2-DWI was 40.9% faster than c-DWI (88 vs. 149 s). Various image quality parameter scores were similar or higher on mb2-DWI when compared to c-DWI. The overall image quality score (averaged over the three readers) was significantly higher for mb-2 compared to c-DWI for b = 0 s/mm2 (3.48 ± 0.52 vs. 3.21 ± 0.54; p = 0.001) and for b = 800 s/mm2 (3.24 ± 0.76 vs. 3.06 ± 0.86; p = 0.010). Total of 25 hepatic lesions were visible on mb2-DWI and c-DWI, with identical lesion detectability. There was no significant difference in liver ADC between mb2-DWI and c-DWI (p = 0.12). Bland–Altman plot demonstrates lower mean liver ADC with mb2-DWI compared to c-DWI (by 0.043 × 10−3 mm2/s or 3.7% of the average ADC). Conclusion: Multiband technique can be used to increase acquisition speed nearly twofold for free-breathing DWI of the liver with similar or improved overall image quality and similar lesion detectability compared to conventional DWI.

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Acknowledgment

Kawin Setsompop, Ph.D. Stephen F. Cauley, Ph.D. Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, Massachusetts, USA.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, New York University Langone Medical Center, 660 First Avenue, New York, NY, 10016, USA

    Chika C. Obele, Justin Ream, Ankur Doshi, Naomi Campbell, Hoi Cheung Zhang, James Babb & Hersh Chandarana

  2. Siemens HealthCare, New York, NY, USA

    Christopher Glielmi

  3. Department of Radiology, Memorial Sloan Kettering, New York, NY, USA

    Naomi Campbell

  4. Siemens HealthCare, Charlestown, MA, USA

    Himanshu Bhat

Authors
  1. Chika C. Obele
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  2. Christopher Glielmi
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  3. Justin Ream
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  4. Ankur Doshi
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  5. Naomi Campbell
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  6. Hoi Cheung Zhang
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  7. James Babb
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  8. Himanshu Bhat
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  9. Hersh Chandarana
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Correspondence to Hersh Chandarana.

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Obele, C.C., Glielmi, C., Ream, J. et al. Simultaneous Multislice Accelerated Free-Breathing Diffusion-Weighted Imaging of the Liver at 3T. Abdom Imaging 40, 2323–2330 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00261-015-0447-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00261-015-0447-3

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