title: Evaluation of diffusivity in the anterior lobe of the pituitary gland: 3D turbo field echo with diffusion-sensitized driven-equilibrium preparation.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  3D turbo field echo with diffusion-sensitized driven-equilibrium preparation is a non-echo-planar technique for DWI, which enables high-resolution DWI without field inhomogeneity-related image distortion. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of diffusion-sensitized driven-equilibrium turbo field echo in evaluating diffusivity in the normal pituitary gland.
  
  
  METHODS
  First, validation of diffusion-sensitized driven-equilibrium turbo field echo was attempted by comparing it with echo-planar DWI. Five healthy volunteers were imaged by using diffusion-sensitized driven-equilibrium turbo field echo and echo-planar DWI. The imaging voxel size was 1.5 × 1.5 × 1.5 mm(3) for diffusion-sensitized driven-equilibrium turbo field echo and 1.5 × 1.9 × 3.0 mm(3) for echo-planar DWI. ADCs measured by the 2 methods in 15 regions of interests (6 in gray matter and 9 in white matter) were compared by using the Pearson correlation coefficient. The ADC in the pituitary anterior lobe was then measured in 10 volunteers by using diffusion-sensitized driven-equilibrium turbo field echo, and the results were compared with those in the pons and vermis by using a paired t test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The ADCs from the 2 methods showed a strong correlation (r = 0.79; P < .0001), confirming the accuracy of the ADC measurement with the diffusion-sensitized driven-equilibrium sequence. The ADCs in the normal pituitary gland were 1.37 ± 0.13 × 10(-3) mm(2)/s, which were significantly higher than those in the pons (1.01 ± 0.24 × 10(-3) mm(2)/s) and the vermis (0.89 ± 0.25 × 10(-3) mm(2)/s, P < .01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We demonstrated that diffusion-sensitized driven-equilibrium turbo field echo is feasible in assessing ADC in the pituitary gland.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Clinical Radiology.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hiwatashi
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yoshiura
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Togao
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yamashita
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kikuchi
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ohga
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sonoda
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Honda
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Obara
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000465:Algorithms; D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D001923:Brain Chemistry; D004058:Diffusion; D038524:Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D017352:Echo-Planar Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D064368:Healthy Volunteers; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010902:Pituitary Gland / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D012016:Reference Values; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity