Higher field reduced FOV diffusion-weighted imaging for abdominal imaging at 5.0 Tesla: image quality evaluation compared with 3.0 Tesla

• Published in: Insights into imaging Vol. 14; no. 1; pp. 171 - 13
• Main Authors: Zhang, Yunfei, Sheng, Ruofan, Yang, Chun, Dai, Yongming, Zeng, Mengsu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Vienna Springer Vienna 15.10.2023; Springer Nature B.V; SpringerOpen
• Subjects: 5.0 Tesla; Abdomen; Abnormalities; Diagnostic Radiology; Diffusion magnetic resonance imaging; Feasibility studies; Image acquisition; Image enhancement; Image quality; Imaging; Internal Medicine; Interventional Radiology; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Neuroradiology; Original; Original Article; Quality assessment; Radiology; rFOV-DWI; Signal to noise ratio; Ultra-high-field MRI; Ultrasound; Image quality; 5.0 Tesla; Ultra-high-field MRI; Diffusion magnetic resonance imaging; rFOV-DWI
• ISSN: 1869-4101; 1869-4101
• DOI: 10.1186/s13244-023-01513-7

Objective To evaluate the image quality of reduced field-of-view (rFOV) DWI for abdominal imaging at 5.0 Tesla (T) compared with 3.0 T. Methods Fifteen volunteers were included into this prospective study. All the subjects underwent the 3.0 T and 5.0 T MR examinations (time interval: 2 ± 1.9 days). Free-breathing (FB), respiratory-triggered (RT), and navigator-triggered (NT) spin-echo echo-planner imaging-based rFOV-DWI examinations were conducted at 3.0 T and 5.0 T (FB 3.0 T , NT 3.0 T , RT 3.0 T , FB 5.0 T , NT 5.0 T , and RT 5.0 T ) with two b values ( b  = 0 and 800 s/mm 2 ), respectively. The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of different acquisition approaches were determined and statistically compared. The image quality was assessed and statistically compared with a 5-point scoring system. Results The SNRs of any 5.0 T DWI images were significantly higher than those of any 3.0 T DWI images for same anatomic locations. Moreover, 5.0 T rFOV-DWIs had the significantly higher sharpness scores than 3.0 T rFOV-DWIs. Similar distortion scores were observed at both 3.0 T and 5.0 T. Finally, RT 5.0 T displayed the best overall image quality followed by NT 5.0 T , FB 5.0 T , RT 3.0 T , NT 3.0 T and FB 3.0 T (RT 5.0 T  = 3.9 ± 0.3, NT 5.0 T  = 3.8 ± 0.3, FB 5.0 T  = 3.4 ± 0.3, RT 3.0 T  = 3.2 ± 0.4, NT 3.0 T  = 3.1 ± 0.4, and FB 3.0 T  = 2.7 ± 0.4, p  < 0.001). Conclusion The 5.0 T rFOV-DWI showed better overall image quality and improved SNR compared to 3.0 T rFOV-DWI, which holds clinical potential for identifying the abdominal abnormalities in routine practice. Critical relevance statement This study provided evidence that abdominal 5.0 Tesla reduced field of view diffusion-weighted imaging (5.0 T rFOV-DWI) exhibited enhanced image quality and higher SNR compared to its 3.0 Tesla counterparts, holding clinical promise for accurately visualizing abdominal abnormalities. Key points • rFOV-DWI was firstly integrated with high-field-MRI for visualizing various abdominal organs. • This study indicated the feasibility of abdominal 5.0 T-rFOV-DWI. • Better image quality was identified for 5.0 T rFOV-DWI. Graphical Abstract