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Updated: Nov 19, 2025
Diffusion Imaging in the Rat Cervical Spinal Cord
Published on: April 7, 2015
Effect of b Value on Imaging Quality for Diffusion Tensor Imaging of the Spinal Cord at Ultrahigh Field Strength
Shu-Sheng Bao1, Can Zhao2, Xing-Xing Bao1
1Beijing Key Laboratory for Biomaterials and Neural Regeneration, Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100083, China.
Objective:
To explore the optimal b value setting for diffusion tensor imaging of rats' spinal cord at ultrahigh field strength (7 T).
Methods:
Spinal cord diffusion tensor imaging data were collected from 14 rats (5 healthy, 9 spinal cord injured) with a series of b values (200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800, 900, and 1000 s/mm2) under the condition that other scanning parameters were consistent. The image quality (including image signal-to-noise ratio and image distortion degree) and data quality (i.e., the stability and consistency of the DTI-derived parameters, referred to as data stability and data consistency) were quantitatively evaluated. The min-max normalization method was used to process the calculation results of the four indicators. Finally, the image and data quality under each b value were synthesized to determine the optimal b value.
Results:
b = 200 s/mm2 and b = 900 s/mm2 ranked in the top two of the comprehensive evaluation, with the best image quality at b = 200 s/mm2 and the best data quality at b = 900 s/mm2.
Conclusion:
Considering the shortcomings of the ability of low b values to reflect the microstructure, b = 900 s/mm2 can be used as the optimal b value for 7 T spinal cord diffusion tensor scanning.
