Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 11, 2026
Registered Bioimaging of Nanomaterials for Diagnostic and Therapeutic Monitoring
Published on: December 9, 2010
Quality assurance multicenter comparison of different MR scanners for quantitative diffusion-weighted imaging
Giacomo Belli1, Simone Busoni2, Antonio Ciccarone3
1Health Physics Unit, USL 8, Arezzo, Italy.
Purpose:
To propose a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) quality assurance procedure that can be used for multicenter comparison of different MR scanners for quantitative diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI).
Materials And Methods:
Twenty-six centers (35 MR scanners with field strengths: 1T, 1.5T, and 3T) were enrolled in the study. Two different DWI acquisition series (b-value ranges 0-1000 and 0-3000 s/mm(2) , respectively) were performed for each MR scanner. All DWI acquisitions were performed by using a cylindrical doped water phantom. Mean apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values as well as ADC values along each of the three main orthogonal directions of the diffusion gradients (x, y, and z) were calculated. Short-term repeatability of ADC measurement was evaluated for 26 MR scanners.
Results:
A good agreement was found between the nominal and measured mean ADC over all the centers. More than 80% of mean ADC measurements were within 5% from the nominal value, and the highest deviation and overall standard deviation were 9.3% and 3.5%, respectively. Short-term repeatability of ADC measurement was found <2.5% for all MR scanners.
Conclusion:
A specific and widely accepted protocol for quality controls in DWI is still lacking. The DWI quality assurance protocol proposed in this study can be applied in order to assess the reliability of DWI-derived indices before tackling single- as well as multicenter studies.
Insights
A new quality assurance protocol for diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) ensures reliable magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner comparisons. This DWI quality control method demonstrates high accuracy and repeatability across multiple centers and scanner types.
Area of Science:
- Medical Imaging
- Radiology
- Biophysics
Background:
- Quantitative diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) is crucial for various clinical applications.
- Standardized quality assurance (QA) protocols are needed for multicenter magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) comparisons.
- Current DWI protocols lack widespread acceptance for quality control.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose a standardized MRI quality assurance procedure for multicenter DWI comparisons.
- To evaluate the reliability of quantitative DWI metrics across different MR scanners.
- To establish a benchmark for assessing DWI data integrity.
Main Methods:
- Twenty-six centers with 35 MR scanners (1T, 1.5T, 3T) participated.
- Two DWI acquisition series (b-values 0-1000 and 0-3000 s/mm(2)) were performed using a doped water phantom.
- Mean apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values and their repeatability were calculated for each scanner.
Main Results:
- Excellent agreement between nominal and measured mean ADC values across centers (over 80% within 5% deviation).
- Highest deviation of mean ADC was 9.3%, with an overall standard deviation of 3.5%.
- Short-term repeatability of ADC measurements was consistently below 2.5% for all scanners.
Conclusions:
- The proposed DWI QA protocol is effective for assessing MR scanner reliability.
- This protocol can be applied to ensure the quality of DWI-derived indices in multicenter studies.
- Implementation of this QA procedure will enhance the consistency and comparability of quantitative DWI data.
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