Single breath-hold diffusion-weighted MRI of the liver with parallel imaging: initial experience

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Radiology
• Hepatobiliary Imaging

Background:

• Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) is crucial for liver lesion characterization.
• Single breath-hold techniques are preferred for patient comfort and reduced motion artifacts.
• Improving signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in DWI is essential for accurate interpretation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To prospectively assess the impact of parallel imaging on SNR in single breath-hold liver DWI.
• To evaluate the effect of parallel imaging on apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) measurements in the liver.
• To determine if parallel imaging improves contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) for focal liver lesions.

Main Methods:

• Prospective study involving 15 patients undergoing liver DWI with and without parallel imaging.
• SNR and ADC values were measured in lesion-free liver parenchyma by two radiologists.
• CNR and ADC were also measured for focal hepatic lesions when present.
• Paired Student's t-tests were used for statistical analysis.

Main Results:

• Mean SNR was significantly higher with parallel imaging (20.82+/-7.54) compared to conventional DWI (15.83+/-5.95) (p<0.01).
• No significant difference was observed in hepatic ADC measurements between the two techniques (p>0.05).
• Lesion CNR was higher in DWI sequences utilizing parallel imaging.

Conclusions:

• Parallel imaging effectively enhances SNR in single breath-hold liver DWI.
• The use of parallel imaging does not compromise the accuracy of ADC measurements.
• Parallel imaging is a valuable technique for improving the quality of liver DWI.