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Reproducibility of brain ADC histograms

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Abstract

The aim of this study was to assess the effect of differences in acquisition technique on whole-brain apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) histogram parameters, as well as to assess scan–rescan reproducibility. Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) was performed in 7 healthy subjects with b-values 0–800, 0–1000, and 0–1500 s/mm2 and fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) DWI with b-values 0–1000 s/mm2. All sequences were repeated with and without repositioning. The peak location, peak height, and mean ADC of the ADC histograms and mean ADC of a region of interest (ROI) in the white matter were compared using paired-sample t tests. Scan–rescan reproducibility was assessed using paired-sample t tests, and repeatability coefficients were reported. With increasing maximum b-values, ADC histograms shifted to lower values, with an increase in peak height (p<0.01). With FLAIR DWI, the ADC histogram shifted to lower values with a significantly higher, narrower peak (p<0.01), although the ROI mean ADC showed no significant differences. For scan–rescan reproducibility, no significant differences were observed. Different DWI pulse sequences give rise to different ADC histograms. With a given pulse sequence, however, ADC histogram analysis is a robust and reproducible technique. Using FLAIR DWI, the partial-voluming effect of cerebrospinal fluid, and thus its confounding effect on histogram analyses, can be reduced.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, C2S, Leiden University Medical Center, P.O. Box 9600, 2300 RC, Leiden, The Netherlands

    Stefan C. A. Steens & Mark A. van Buchem

  2. Division of Image Processing, C2S, Leiden University Medical Center, P.O. Box 9600, 2300 RC, Leiden, The Netherlands

    Faiza Admiraal-Behloul & Jorrit A. Schaap

  3. MR Clinical Science, Philips Medical Systems, P.O. Box 10000, 5680 DA, Best, The Netherlands

    Frank G. C. Hoogenraad

  4. NMR Research Unit, Institute of Neurology, University College, Queen Square, London , WC1 N 3BG, UK

    Claudia A. M. Wheeler-Kingshott & Paul S. Tofts

  5. Division of Medical Statistics, Leiden University Medical Center, P.O. Box 9604, 2300 RC, Leiden, The Netherlands

    Saskia le Cessie

Authors
  1. Stefan C. A. Steens
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  2. Faiza Admiraal-Behloul
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  3. Jorrit A. Schaap
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  4. Frank G. C. Hoogenraad
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  5. Claudia A. M. Wheeler-Kingshott
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  6. Saskia le Cessie
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  8. Mark A. van Buchem
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Correspondence to Stefan C. A. Steens.

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Steens, S.C.A., Admiraal-Behloul, F., Schaap, J.A. et al. Reproducibility of brain ADC histograms. Eur Radiol 14, 425–430 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00330-003-2121-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00330-003-2121-3

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