Accelerated diffusion-weighted imaging for lymph node assessment in the pelvis applying simultaneous multislice acquisition: A healthy volunteer study

To evaluate the feasibility of accelerated simultaneous multislice diffusion weighted sequences (SMS-DWI) for lymph node detection in the abdominopelvic region. Sequences were evaluated regarding the number and depiction of lymph nodes detected with SMS-DWI compared with conventional diffusion weighted sequences, the most suitable SMS- acceleration factor, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and the overall acquisition time (TA). Eight healthy volunteers (4 men, 4 women; age range 21–39 years; median age 25 years) were examined in the pelvic region at 3T using a conventional DWI sequence and a SMS DWI sequence with different acceleration factors (AF: 2–3). Moreover, a SMS DWI sequence with AF 3 and higher slice resolution was applied. For morphological correlation of the lymph nodes and as a reference standard, an isotropic 3-dimensional T2-weighted fast-spin-echo sequence with high sampling efficiency (SPACE) was acquired. Two radiologists reviewed each DWI sequence and assessed the number of lymph nodes and the overall image quality. For each DWI sequence, SNR, SNR efficiency per time, contrast to noise (CNR), and ADC values were calculated. Values were statistically compared using a Wilcoxon test (P 
Source: Medicine - Category: Internal Medicine Tags: Research Article: Observational Study Source Type: research