Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 30, 2026
In Vitro Model of Human Cutaneous Hypertrophic Scarring using Macromolecular Crowding
Published on: May 1, 2020
Direct comparison between apparent diffusion coefficient and macromolecular proton fraction as quantitative
Alexandra M Korostyshevskaya1, Irina Yu Prihod'ko1, Andrey A Savelov1
1Institute "International Tomography Center" of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russian Federation.
Background:
Apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) is known as a quantitative biomarker of prenatal brain maturation. Fast macromolecular proton fraction (MPF) mapping is an emerging method for quantitative assessment of myelination that was recently adapted to fetal MRI.
Purpose:
To compare the capability of ADC and MPF to quantify the normal fetal brain development.
Study Type:
Prospective.
Population:
Forty-two human fetuses in utero (gestational age [GA] = 27.7 ± 6.0, range 20-38 weeks).
Field Strength/Sequence:
1.5 T; diffusion-weighted single-shot echo-planar spin-echo with five b-values for ADC mapping; spoiled multishot echo-planar gradient-echo with T1 , proton density, and magnetization transfer contrast weightings for single-point MPF mapping.
Assessment:
Two operators measured ADC and MPF in the medulla, pons, cerebellum, thalamus, and frontal, occipital, and temporal cerebral white matter (WM).
Statistical Tests:
Mixed repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) with the factors of pregnancy trimester and brain structure; Pearson correlation coefficient (r); Hotelling-Williams test to compare strengths of correlations.
Results:
From the 2nd to 3rd trimester, ADC significantly decreased in the thalamus and cerebellum (P < 0.005). MPF significantly increased in the medulla, pons, thalamus, and cerebellum (P < 0.005). Cerebral WM had significantly higher ADC and lower MPF compared with the medulla and pons in both trimesters. MPF (r range 0.83, 0.89, P < 0.001) and ADC (r range -0.43, -0.75, P ≤ 0.004) significantly correlated with GA and each other (r range -0.32, -0.60, P ≤ 0.04) in the medulla, pons, thalamus, and cerebellum. No significant correlations or distinctions between regions and trimesters were observed for cerebral WM (P range 0.1-0.75). Correlations with GA were significantly stronger for MPF compared with ADC in the medulla, pons, and cerebellum (Hotelling-Williams test, P < 0.003) and similar in the thalamus. Structure-averaged MPF and ADC values strongly correlated (r = 0.95, P < 0.001).
Data Conclusion:
MPF and ADC demonstrated qualitatively similar but quantitatively different spatiotemporal patterns. MPF appeared more sensitive to changes in the brain structures with prenatal onset of myelination.
Level Of Evidence:
2 Technical Efficacy Stage: 2 J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2019;50:52-61.
Related Concept Videos
01:09Apparent Weight
Consider a person standing on a bathroom scale inside an elevator. If the scale is accurate at rest, its reading equals the...
01:12Diffusion
01:10Coefficient of Variation
The coefficient of variation is a practical statistical tool in finance. It allows investors to assess the volatility or...
01:28Apparent Weight and the Earth's Rotation
For an object on the Earth's equator, the net centripetal force that accounts for its rotation is the Earth's pull towards its center, or the weight minus the normal force that prevents it from piercing into the Earth's surface....
01:12Coefficient of Correlation
If you suspect a linear relationship between x and y, then r can measure how strong the linear relationship is.
What the VALUE of r tells us:
The value of r is always between –1 and +1: –1 ≤ r ≤ 1.
The size of the correlation r indicates the...
01:24Confidence Coefficient