Presentation of microstructural diffusion components by color schemes in abdominal organs.

PURPOSE: Development of a color scheme representation to facilitate the interpretation of tri-exponential DWI data from abdominal organs, where multi-exponential behavior is more pronounced. METHODS: Multi-exponential analysis of DWI data provides information about the microstructure of the tissue under study. The tri-exponential signal analysis generates numerous parameter images that are difficult to analyze individually. Summarized color images can simplify at-a-glance analysis. A color scheme was developed in which the slow, intermediate, and fast diffusion components were each assigned to a different red, green, and blue color channel. To improve the appearance of the image, histogram equalization, gamma correction, and white balance were used, and the processing parameters were adjusted. Examples of the resulting color maps of the diffusion fractions of healthy and pathological kidney and prostate are shown. RESULTS: The color maps obtained by the presented method show the merged information of the slow, intermediate, and fast diffusion components in a single view. A differentiation of the different fractions becomes clearly visible. Fast diffusion regimes, such as in the renal hilus, can be clearly distinguished from slow fractions, such as in dense tumor tissue. CONCLUSION: Combining the diffusion information from tri-exponential DWI analysis into a single color image allows for simplified interpretation of the diffusion fractions. In the future, such color images may provide additional information about the microstructural nature of the tissue under study.

Lorentzian-Corrected Apparent Exchange-Dependent Relaxation (LAREX) Ω-Plot Analysis-An Adaptation for qCEST in a Multi-Pool System: Comprehensive In Silico, In Situ, and In Vivo Studies.

Based on in silico, in situ, and in vivo studies, this study aims to develop a new method for the quantitative chemical exchange saturation transfer (qCEST) technique considering multi-pool systems. To this end, we extended the state-of-the-art apparent exchange-dependent relaxation (AREX) method with a Lorentzian correction (LAREX). We then validated this new method with in situ and in vivo experiments on human intervertebral discs (IVDs) using the Kendall-Tau correlation coefficient. In the in silico experiments, we observed significant deviations of the AREX method as a function of the underlying exchange rate (kba) and fractional concentration (fb) compared to the ground truth due to the influence of other exchange pools. In comparison to AREX, the LAREX-based Ω-plot approach yielded a substantial improvement. In the subsequent in situ and in vivo experiments on human IVDs, no correlation to the histological reference standard or Pfirrmann classification could be found for the fb (in situ: τ = −0.17 p = 0.51; in vivo: τ = 0.13 p = 0.30) and kba (in situ: τ = 0.042 p = 0.87; in vivo: τ = −0.26 p = 0.04) of Glycosaminoglycan (GAG) with AREX. In contrast, the influence of interfering pools could be corrected by LAREX, and a moderate to strong correlation was observed for the fractional concentration of GAG for both in situ (τ = −0.71 p = 0.005) and in vivo (τ = −0.49 p < 0.001) experiments. The study presented here is the first to introduce a new qCEST method that enables qCEST imaging in systems with multiple proton pools.

UTE-T2* versus conventional T2* mapping to assess posterior cruciate ligament ultrastructure and integrity-an in-situ study.

Background: Clinical-standard morphologic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is limited in the refined diagnosis of posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) injuries. Quantitative MRI sequences such as ultrashort echo-time (UTE)-T2* mapping or conventional T2* mapping have been theorized to quantify ligament (ultra-) structure and integrity beyond morphology. This study evaluates their diagnostic potential in identifying and differentiating partial and complete PCL injuries in a standardized graded injury model. Methods: Ten human cadaveric knee joint specimens were imaged on a clinical 3.0 T MRI scanner using morphologic, conventional T2* mapping, and UTE-T2* mapping sequences before and after standardized arthroscopic partial and complete PCL transection. Following manual segmentation, quantitative T2* and underlying texture features (i.e., energy, homogeneity, and variance) were analyzed for each specimen and PCL condition, both for the entire PCL and its subregions. For statistical analysis, Friedman's test followed by Dunn's multiple comparison test was used against the level of significance of P≤0.01. Results: For the entire PCL, T2* was significantly increased as a function of injury when acquired with the UTE-T2* sequence [entire PCL: 11.1±3.1 ms (intact); 10.9±4.6 ms (partial); 14.3±4.9 ms (complete); P<0.001], but not when acquired with the conventional T2* sequence [entire PCL: 10.0±3.2 ms (intact); 11.4±6.2 ms (partial); 15.5±7.8 ms (complete); P=0.046]. The PCL subregions and texture variables showed variable changes indicative of injury-associated disorganization. Conclusions: In contrast to the conventional T2* mapping, UTE-T2* mapping is more receptive in the detection of structural damage of the PCL and allows quantitative assessment of ligament (ultra-)structure and integrity that may help to improve diagnostic differentiation of distinct injury states. Once further substantiated beyond the in-situ setting, UTE-T2* mapping may refine diagnostic evaluation of PCL injuries and -possibly- monitor ligament healing, ageing, degeneration, and inflammation.

Evaluation of Radiographic Contrast-Induced Nephropathy by Functional Diffusion Weighted Imaging.

Contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) resembles an important complication of radiographic contrast medium (XCM) displayed by a rise in creatinine levels 48-72 h after XCM administration. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate microstructural renal changes due to CIN in high-risk patients by diffusion weighted (DWI) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Fifteen patients (five CIN and ten non-CIN) scheduled for cardiological intervention were included in the study. All patients were investigated pre- and post-intervention on a clinical 3T scanner. After anatomical imaging, renal DWI was performed by a paracoronal echo-planar-imaging sequence. Renal clinical routine serum parameters and advanced urinary injury markers were determined to monitor renal function. We observed a drop in cortical and medullar apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and fractional anisotropy (FA) before and after XCM administration in the CIN group. In contrast, the non-CIN group differed only in medullary ADC. The decrease of ADC and FA was apparent even before serum parameters of the kidney changed. In conclusion, DWI/DTI may be a useful tool for monitoring high-risk CIN patients as part of multi-modality based clinical protocol. Further studies, including advanced analysis of the diffusion signal, may improve the identification of patients at risk for CIN.