Differences in apparent diffusion coefficients between normal brain echo-planar images and turbo spin-echo diffusion-weighted images with distortion correction

Purpose: We performed echo-planar imaging (EPI) and turbo spin-echo (TSE) diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to obtain basic clinical data of the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) in various parts of normal brains and compared the datasets using our retrospective distortion correction technique.Materials and methods: The normal brains of 32 patients who underwent health check were scanned on a 1.5-T MRI instrument using EPI- and TSE-DWI. Distortion was corrected by (1) segmentation: the b0 images were segmented based on the plural threshold values; (2) edge detection: the edge was detected in the images obtained in step (1); (3) non-rigid image registration: non-rigid image registration using Demons algorithm was achieved between the b0 images of EPI-DWI and TSE-DWI, thereby, creating a displacement field; and (4) image warp: the displacement field was applied to the b1000 image to warp. Twenty-six parts of the brain were measured from the images of b0 and b1000 and the ADCs were calculated. The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the cerebrospinal fluid was measured to identify the cause of the difference between the two sequences. These were compared using Wilcoxon signed-rank test (P = 0.05).Results: The ADC was significantly higher measured by EPI-DWI than by TSE-DWI. The SNR of EPI-DWI was significantly higher than that of the TSE-DWI.Conclusion: Care must be taken when measuring ADCs near the base of the skull, such as the brain stem, where the SNR of the imaging technique is likely to decrease or distort.

Automated summary

In this study, we used MRI to perform EPI and TSE diffusion-weighted imaging on normal brains, comparing the ADC and SNR data. The results showed that the ADC measured by EPI-DWI was significantly higher than TSE-DWI, with EPI-DWI also having a significantly higher SNR. Care should be taken when measuring ADCs near the base of the skull as the SNR of the imaging technique may be affected.