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Diffusion weighted imaging demystified: the technique and potential clinical applications for soft tissue imaging

Skeletal Radiology volume 47, pages 313–328 (2018)Cite this article

Abstract

Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) is a fast, non-contrast technique that is readily available and easy to integrate into an existing imaging protocol. DWI with apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) mapping offers a quantitative metric for soft tissue evaluation and provides information regarding the cellularity of a region of interest. There are several available methods of performing DWI, and artifacts and pitfalls must be considered when interpreting DWI studies. This review article will review the various techniques of DWI acquisition and utility of qualitative as well as quantitative methods of image interpretation, with emphasis on optimal methods for ADC measurement. The current clinical applications for DWI are primarily related to oncologic evaluation: For the assessment of de novo soft tissue masses, ADC mapping can serve as a useful adjunct technique to routine anatomic sequences for lesion characterization as cyst or solid and, if solid, benign or malignant. For treated soft tissue masses, the role of DWI/ADC mapping in the assessment of treatment response as well as recurrent or residual neoplasm in the setting of operative management is discussed, especially when intravenous contrast medium cannot be given. Emerging DWI applications for non-neoplastic clinical indications are also reviewed.

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Author information

Affiliations

  1. The Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology & Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, 600 North Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA

    Shivani Ahlawat & Laura M. Fayad

  2. Department of Oncology, The Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, 600 North Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA

    Laura M. Fayad

  3. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, The Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, 600 North Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA

    Laura M. Fayad

Authors
  1. Shivani Ahlawat
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  2. Laura M. Fayad
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Correspondence to Shivani Ahlawat.

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“All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.”

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Cite this article

Ahlawat, S., Fayad, L.M. Diffusion weighted imaging demystified: the technique and potential clinical applications for soft tissue imaging. Skeletal Radiol 47, 313–328 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00256-017-2822-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00256-017-2822-3

Keywords

  • Diffusion-weighted MRI
  • ADC mapping
  • Soft tissue mass
  • Cyst
  • Malignant neoplasm
  • Recurrence