title: Limitations and Prospects for Diffusion-Weighted MRI of the Prostate.
abstract: Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) is the most effective component of the modern multi-parametric magnetic resonance imaging (mpMRI) scan for prostate pathology. DWI provides the strongest prediction of cancer volume, and the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) correlates moderately with Gleason grade. Notwithstanding the demonstrated cancer assessment value of DWI, the standard measurement and signal analysis methods are based on a model of water diffusion dynamics that is well known to be invalid in human tissue. This review describes the biophysical limitations of the DWI component of the current standard mpMRI protocol and the potential for significantly improved cancer assessment performance based on more sophisticated measurement and signal modeling techniques.
authors.affiliation: Discipline of Medical Radiation Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia. roger.bourne@sydney.edu.au.
authors.forename: Roger
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bourne
authors.affiliation: Centre for Medical Image Computing, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK. e.panagiotaki@cs.ucl.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Eleftheria
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Panagiotaki
keywords: MRI; cancer; diffusion; microstructure; modeling; mpMRI; prostate