Free-breathing echo-planar imaging based diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging of the liver with prospective acquisition correction.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate soft tissue contrast and image quality of a respiratory-triggered echo-planar imaging based diffusion-weighted sequence (EPI-DWI) with different b values for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the liver.


METHODS
Forty patients were examined. Quantitative and qualitative evaluation of contrast was performed. Severity of artifacts and overall image quality in comparison with a T2w turbo spin-echo (T2-TSE) sequence were scored.


RESULTS
The liver-spleen contrast was significantly higher (P < 0.05) for the EPI-DWI compared with the T2-TSE sequence (0.47 +/- 0.11 (b50); 0.48 +/- 0.13 (b300); 0.47 +/- 0.13 (b600) vs 0.38 +/- 0.11). Liver-lesion contrast strongly depends on the b value of the DWI sequence and decreased with higher b values (b50, 0.47 +/- 0.19; b300, 0.40 +/- 0.20; b600, 0.28 +/- 0.23). Severity of artifacts and overall image quality were comparable to the T2-TSE sequence when using a low b value (P > 0.05), artifacts increased and image quality decreased with higher b values (P < 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
Respiratory-triggered EPI-DWI of the liver is feasible because good image quality and favorable soft tissue contrast can be achieved.
Department of Radiology, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Charitéplatz 1, Berlin, Germany. patrick.asbach@charite.de
Patrick
P
Asbach
Patrick A
PA
Hein
Alto
A
Stemmer
Moritz
M
Wagner
Alexander
A
Huppertz
Bernd
B
Hamm
Matthias
M
Taupitz
Christian
C
Klessen
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016477:Artifacts; D017352:Echo-Planar Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012119:Respiration