Abstract
Objectives
To evaluate whether readout-segmented echo-planar imaging (RS-EPI) diffusion weighted image (DWI) can diminish image distortion in the head and neck area, compared with single-shot (SS)-EPI DWI.
Methods
We conducted phantom and patient studies using 3 T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with a 16-channel coil. For the phantom study, we evaluated distortion and signal homogeneity in gel phantoms. For the patient study, 29 consecutive patients with clinically suspicious parotid lesions were prospectively enrolled. RS-EPI and SS-EPI DWI were evaluated by two independent readers for identification of organ/lesion and distortion, using semiquantitative scales and quantitative scores. Apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values and contrast-noise ratios of parotid tumours (if present; n = 15) were also compared.
Results
The phantom experiments showed that RS-EPI provided less distorted and more homogeneous ADC maps than SS-EPI. In the patient study, RS-EPI was found to provide significantly less distortion in almost all organs/lesions (p < 0.05), according to both semiquantitative scales and quantitative scores. There was no significant difference in ADC values and contrast-noise ratios between the two DWI techniques.
Conclusions
The distortion in DWI was significantly reduced with RS-EPI in both phantom and patient studies. The RS-EPI technique provided more homogenous images than SS-EPI, and can potentially offer higher image quality in the head and neck area.
Key Points
• The distortion in DWI is significantly reduced with RS-EPI compared with SS-EPI.
• Structures in the head and neck were identified more clearly using RS-EPI.
• No significant difference in ADC values was found between the techniques.
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Abbreviations
- ADC:
-
apparent diffusion coefficient
- DWI:
-
diffusion weighted imaging
- EPI:
-
echo-planner imaging
- ICC:
-
interclass correlation
- PROPELLER:
-
periodically rotated overlapping parallel lines with enhanced reconstruction
- SD:
-
standard deviation
- SS:
-
single-shot
- ROI:
-
region of interest
- RS:
-
readout–segmented
- GRAPPA:
-
generalized autocalibrating partially parallel acquisition
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Acknowledgments
This report was presented as a Multimedia Electronic Poster at the scientific sessions of the Joint Annual Meeting ISMRM-ESMRMB 2014, in Milan, Italy. We wish to thank Mr Katsutoshi Murata and Mr Masato Uchikoshi, from Siemens Healthcare for their valuable support in the optimization of scan parameters and data acquisition. We would also thank Dr. Masahiro Kikuchi for his useful suggestions as a head and neck surgeon, regarding this study.
The scientific guarantor of this publication is Dr. Kaori Togashi, Department of Diagnostic Imaging and Nuclear Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.
The authors of this manuscript declare relationships with the following companies: David A. Porter is an employee of Siemens AG, Erlangen, Germany. This study has received funding by a Grant-in-Aid for JSPS Fellows from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (Sho Koyasu, Mami Iima). No complex statistical methods were necessary for this paper. Institutional Review Board approval was obtained. Written informed consent was obtained from all subjects (patients) in this study. None of study subjects or cohorts have been previously reported. Methodology: prospective, observational study, performed at one institution.
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Koyasu, S., Iima, M., Umeoka, S. et al. The clinical utility of reduced-distortion readout-segmented echo-planar imaging in the head and neck region: initial experience. Eur Radiol 24, 3088–3096 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00330-014-3369-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00330-014-3369-5