Radiologists' Rating for Comparative Qualitative Assessment of Intravoxel Incoherent Motion Using Novel Analysis...

Area of Science:

• Radiology and Medical Imaging
• Biomedical Engineering
• Oncology

Background:

• Intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) imaging provides insights into tissue microcirculation.
• Accurate estimation of IVIM parameters is crucial for diagnostic applications.
• Existing IVIM analysis methods may have limitations in interpretability and reproducibility.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the qualitative interpretability and quantitative precision of novel IVIM analysis methods.
• To compare five different IVIM analysis methods for diagnostic accuracy.
• To assess the reproducibility of IVIM parameter estimation in osteosarcoma patients.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of IVIM datasets from 55 osteosarcoma patients.
• Estimation of diffusion coefficient (D), perfusion fraction (f), and perfusion coefficient (D*) using five IVIM analysis methods: biexponential (BE), BE-segmented fitting 2-parameter (BESeg-2), BE-segmented fitting 1-parameter (BESeg-1), BE + total variation (BE + TV), and BE + Huber penalty function (BE + HPF).
• Qualitative assessment using a 5-point Likert scale and quantitative evaluation of precision and reproducibility using coefficient of variation (CV).

Main Results:

• BE + TV and BE + HPF yielded significantly higher qualitative scores for D, f, and D* compared to other methods.
• BE + TV and BE + HPF demonstrated significantly improved reproducibility in estimating D, f, and D*.
• Interobserver agreement for qualitative scoring ranged from rs = 0.48-0.59.

Conclusions:

• The BE + TV and BE + HPF methods offer superior qualitative interpretability and quantitative precision for IVIM parameter estimation.
• These advanced IVIM analysis techniques show promise for clinical application in osteosarcoma diagnosis and management.