Evaluating boost diffusion sampling for improved abdominal imaging using prototype slice-specific shimming method.
To determine whether prototype integrated slice-specific shimming (iShim) diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) combined with Boost diffusion sampling improves image quality and diagnostic performance for focal liver lesions compared with conventional DWI and alternative iShim sampling schemes.
Eighty-five patients with focal liver lesions underwent 3T MRI with conventional DWI and iShim-DWI using Boost, flow-compensated (FC), monopolar (Mono), FC with five lobes (FC5), and stimulated echo acquisition mode (Steam) sampling at b-values of 0 and 1000 s/mm². Two radiologists independently scored six image-quality features. Signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) were measured. Interreader agreement, between-sequence differences, ADC correlations and agreement, and diagnostic performance for differentiating benign from malignant lesions were assessed.
Boost iShim-DWI yielded significantly better artifact, diagnostic-confidence, and total-image-quality scores than all other sequences (p < 0.05) and achieved the highest lesion SNR, liver SNR, and CNR (p < 0.05). Interreader agreement was excellent (ICC = 0.839-0.953). ADC values correlated strongly across sequences (rₛ = 0.812-0.961, p < 0.001). Boost iShim-DWI achieved the highest diagnostic performance (AUC = 0.942; 95% CI 0.897-0.988). Discussion: Boost iShim-DWI improves liver DWI image quality while preserving ADC comparability and may enhance differentiation of benign and malignant focal liver lesions.
Eighty-five patients with focal liver lesions underwent 3T MRI with conventional DWI and iShim-DWI using Boost, flow-compensated (FC), monopolar (Mono), FC with five lobes (FC5), and stimulated echo acquisition mode (Steam) sampling at b-values of 0 and 1000 s/mm². Two radiologists independently scored six image-quality features. Signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) were measured. Interreader agreement, between-sequence differences, ADC correlations and agreement, and diagnostic performance for differentiating benign from malignant lesions were assessed.
Boost iShim-DWI yielded significantly better artifact, diagnostic-confidence, and total-image-quality scores than all other sequences (p < 0.05) and achieved the highest lesion SNR, liver SNR, and CNR (p < 0.05). Interreader agreement was excellent (ICC = 0.839-0.953). ADC values correlated strongly across sequences (rₛ = 0.812-0.961, p < 0.001). Boost iShim-DWI achieved the highest diagnostic performance (AUC = 0.942; 95% CI 0.897-0.988). Discussion: Boost iShim-DWI improves liver DWI image quality while preserving ADC comparability and may enhance differentiation of benign and malignant focal liver lesions.
Authors
Fan Fan, Shi Shi, Wang Wang, Qin Qin, Cao Cao, Gao Gao, Alto Alto, Hu Hu, Wan Wan, Wu Wu, Lu Lu, Lang Lang, Wang Wang, Zhang Zhang
View on Pubmed