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Short tau inversion recovery in breast diffusion-weighted imaging: signal-to-noise ratio and apparent diffusion coefficients using a breast phantom in comparison with spectral attenuated inversion recovery

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Abstract

Objective

This study aimed to compare the signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) and apparent diffusion coefficients (ADCs) obtained using two fat suppression techniques in breast diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) of a phantom.

Materials and methods

The breast phantom comprised agar gels with four different concentrations of granulated sugar (samples 1, 2, 3, and 4). DWI with short tau inversion recovery (STIR-DWI) and that with spectral attenuated inversion recovery (SPAIR-DWI) were performed using 3.0-T magnetic resonance imaging, and the obtained SNRs and ADCs were compared. ADCs were also compared between the right and left breast phantoms.

Results

For samples 3 and 4, SNRs obtained using STIR-DWI were lower than those obtained using SPAIR-DWI. For samples 2, 3, and 4, overall ADCs obtained using STIR-DWI were significantly higher than those obtained using SPAIR-DWI (p < 0.001 for all), although no significant difference was observed for sample 1 (p = 0.62). STIR-DWI shows a positive bias and wide limits of agreement in Bland–Altman plot. The coefficients of variance of overall ADCs were good in STIR-DWI and SPAIR-DWI. For all samples, STIR-DWI demonstrated slightly larger percentage differences in ADCs between the right and left phantoms than SPAIR-DWI.

Conclusion

SNRs and ADCs obtained using STIR-DWI are influenced by the T 1 value; a shorter T 1 value decreases SNRs, overestimates ADCs, and induces the measurement error in ADCs. STIR-DWI showed a larger difference in ADCs between the right and left phantoms than SPAIR-DWI.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Shizuoka Cancer Center, 1007, Shimonagakubo, Nagaizumi, Sunto, Shizuoka, 411-8777, Japan

    Tsukasa Yoshida, Atsushi Urikura, Kensei Shirata, Yoshihiro Nakaya & Masahiro Endo

  2. Department of Radiation Science, Hirosaki University Graduate School of Health Sciences, 66-1 Hon-cho, Hirosaki, 036-8564, Japan

    Tsukasa Yoshida

  3. Division of Medical Life Sciences, Department of Radiological Life Sciences, Hirosaki University, 66-1 Hon-cho, Hirosaki, 036-8564, Japan

    Shingo Terashima & Yoichiro Hosokawa

Authors
  1. Tsukasa Yoshida
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  2. Atsushi Urikura
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  7. Yoichiro Hosokawa
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Correspondence to Tsukasa Yoshida.

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Yoshida, T., Urikura, A., Shirata, K. et al. Short tau inversion recovery in breast diffusion-weighted imaging: signal-to-noise ratio and apparent diffusion coefficients using a breast phantom in comparison with spectral attenuated inversion recovery. Radiol med 123, 296–304 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11547-017-0840-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11547-017-0840-9

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