Diffusion-weighted and diffusion-tensor imaging of normal and diseased uterus

Owing to technical advances and improvement of the software, diffusion weighted imaging and diffusion tensor imaging (DWI and DTI) greatly improved the diagnostic value of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the pelvic region. These imaging sequences can exhibit important tissue contrast on the basis of random diffusion (Brownian motion) of water molecules in tissues. Quantitative measurements can be done with DWI and DTI by apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and fractional anisotropy (FA) values respectively. ADC and FA values may be changed by various physiological and pathological conditions providing additional information to conventional MRI. The quantitative DWI assists significantly in the differentiation of benign and malignant lesions. It can demonstrate the microstructural architecture and celluler density of the normal and diseased uterine zones. On the other hand, DWI and DTI are useful for monitoring the treatment outcome of the uterine lesions. In this review, we discussed advantages of DWI and DTI of the normal and diseased uterus.     

创伤性脑损伤弥散加权及弥散张力成像研究

磁共振弥散加权及弥散张力成像是基于水分子运动的成像技术,提供脑生理或病理状态的信息,为创伤性脑损伤,特别是弥漫性轴索损伤的早期诊断、指导临床治疗及预测预后提供一定信息,作为传统影像学的补充,弥散加权成像及弥散张力成像越来越成为TBI检查的可供选择的有价值的方法。     

功能MRI在肌肉损伤中的应用进展

肌肉损伤的早期确诊有助于临床治疗与预后评估。常规MRI作为评估肌肉损伤的最佳影像方法已广泛应用于临床。而近年发展起来的T2 mapping、扩散加权成像（DWI）及扩散张量成像（DTI）等功能MRI技术能够反映肌肉损伤后病理、生理微观变化,可以无创、定量、客观地评估肌肉损伤的严重程度与再生修复情况,甚至可以早期发现肌肉损伤。就功能MRI在肌肉损伤评估方面的应用进展予以综述。     

Serial MR Analysis of Early Permanent and Transient Ischemia in Rats: Diffusion Tensor Imaging and High b Value Diffusion Weighted Imaging

Objective

To evaluate the temporal evolution and diagnostic values of the diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and the high b value diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) in the early permanent and transient cerebral ischemia.

Materials and Methods

For permanent or 30-minute transient-ischemia induced 30 rats, DTI and DWIs at both high b (b = 3000 s/mm²) and standard b value (b = 1000 s/mm²) were obtained at the following conditions: at 15, 30, 45, 60 minutes after the occlusion of what for hyperacute permanent ischemia; at 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 hours after the occlusion for acute permanent ischemia; and at 15 minutes before reperfusion, 0.5, 2.5, and 24 hours after reperfusion for transient ischemia. The diffusion parameters and their ratios were obtained and compared between different b values, and among different time points and groups, respectively.

Results

For both b values, the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) ratio decreased for first three hours, and then slightly increased until 9 hours after the occlusion during a gradual continuous increase of DWI signal intensity (SI) ratio, with excellent correlation between ADC ratios and DWI SI ratios. The DWI showed a higher contrast ratio, but the ADC map showed a lower contrast ratio for permanent ischemia at high b value than at standard b value. Fractional anisotropy (FA) increased for 1 hour, then gradually decreased until 9 hours after the occlusion in permanent ischemia and showed transient normalization and secondary decay along with change in ADC in transient ischemia.

Conclusion

This study presents characteristic initial elevation and secondary decay of FA, higher contrast ratio of DWI, and lower contrast ratio of ADC map at high b value, in addition to the time evolutions of diffusion parameters in early permanent and transient ischemia.     

肌肉失神经改变的MRI表现及研究进展

肌肉失神经支配可导致形态学、电生理学及组织代谢等多方面的改变。MRI不仅能有效评价失神经支配肌肉的形态学及病生理学改变,也可以利用扩散加权成像(DWI)及扩散张量成像(DTI)等技术探测肌细胞内外水分子运动状况。受损的神经在一定时间内再生可以恢复对靶肌的支配,近年来部分研究者提出可通过观察不同程度神经损伤后靶肌肉信号的演变从而预测神经损伤的类型及预后。就肌肉失神经改变的MRI表现及研究进展进行综述。     

DWI技术在肝外胆管细胞癌诊断、分期和 疗效评估中的研究进展

肝外胆管细胞癌（EHCC）是第二大原发性肝胆系统肿瘤,其恶性程度高,预后不良。扩散加权成像（DWI）是反映组织水分子扩散运动的常用无创性成像方法。近年来,DWI及体素内不相干运动（IVIM）、扩散张量成像（DTI）及扩散峰度成像（DKI）等衍生技术已广泛应用于EHCC的诊断、病理分期预测和监测以及疗效评估。就DWI及其衍生序列对EHCC应用的研究进展以及局限性和应用前景予以综述。     

3.0T MR扩散张量成像在脑梗死诊断中的应用

目的：探讨3.0T磁共振扩散张量成像（DTI）对脑梗死的诊断价值。方法：对75例不同时期脑梗死患者进行MRI常规检查、扩散加权成像（DWI）及DTI检查,重建平均扩散系数（DCavg）图及部分各向异性（FA）图。以T2WI与DWI图像为参照,测定各期脑梗死灶及对侧正常脑组织的平均DCavg值、平均FA值,并进行统计学处理。结果：与对侧正常脑组织相比,脑梗死平均DCavg值在超急性期及急性期显著减低（P〈0.01）,随着时间延长呈逐渐恢复升高的变化趋势;脑梗死平均FA值在超急性期无一致性变化,与对侧正常脑组织相比差异无统计学意义（P〉0.05）,可轻度升高或轻度降低,随着病程进展呈不可恢复持续减低规律。结论：联合DCavg值与FA值可对脑梗死进行更精确的临床分期,有助于及时准确了解脑梗死的病理生理改变,为临床治疗及预后判断提供依据。     

Interest of diffusion-weighted echo-planar MR imaging and apparent diffusion coefficient mapping in gynecological malignancies: a review

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) remains the standard modality for the local staging of gynecological malignancies but it has several limitations, particularly for lymph node staging or evaluating peritoneal carcinomatosis. Consequently, there has been a growing interest in functional imaging modalities. Based on molecular diffusion, diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) is a unique, noninvasive modality that provides excellent tissue contrast and was shown to improve the radiological diagnosis of malignant tumors. Using quantitative apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) measurement of DWI provides a new tool for better distinguishing malignant tissues from benign tumors. The aim of the present review is to report on the results of DWI for the assessment of patients with gynecological malignancies. An analysis of the literature suggests that DWI studies would improve the diagnosis of cervical and endometrial tumors. It may also improve the assessment of tumor extension in patients with peritoneal carcinomatosis from gynecological malignancies. However, since the signal intensity of some cancers can range from high intensity to low intensity, a degree of uncertainty was demonstrated due to the proximity of the normal uterine myometrium and ovaries. Interestingly, there is also evidence that ADC might improve the follow-up and monitoring of patients who receive anticancer therapies, including chemotherapy or radiation therapy.     

Neuroimaging of pediatric posterior fossa tumors including review of the literature

Conventional, anatomical MRI is an essential tool for diagnosis and evaluation of location, quality, and extent of posterior fossa tumors, but offers limited information regarding tumor grade and type. Advanced MRI techniques such as diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) may improve the specific diagnosis of brain tumors in the posterior fossa in children. In this review the conventional neuroimaging findings, as well as the DWI, and DTI characteristics of common pediatric posterior fossa tumors are discussed and summarized.     

Diffusion and perfusion of the kidney

MRI of the kidney currently makes the transition from depiction of morphology to assessment of function. Functional renal imaging methods provide information on diffusion and perfusion on a microstructural level. This review article presents the current status of functional renal imaging with focus on DWI (diffusion-weighted imaging) and DCE-MRI (dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI), as well as BOLD (blood-oxygenation level dependent) MRI, DTI (diffusion tensor imaging) and arterial spin labeling (ASL). Technical background of these techniques is explained and clinical assessment of renal function, parenchymal disease, transplant function and solid masses is discussed.     

Diffusion weighted imaging of female pelvic cancers: Concepts and clinical applications

Early applications of diffusion weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DWI) were limited to neuroimaging, concentrating either on stroke or brain tumours. With recent advances in MRI hardware and software DWI is now increasingly being investigated for cancer assessment throughout the body.Clinical applications of DWI relating to female pelvic cancers have largely concentrated on detection, localisation and staging of disease. More recently investigators have started to evaluate the ability of DWI for determining tumour histology and even predicting the outcome of chemoradiation treatment.This article reviews the physical concepts of MR diffusion weighting, illustrates the biophysical basis of diffusion contrast and reports the clinical applications of DWI for cervical, endometrial, ovarian, rectal and bladder tumours.     

MR扩散峰度成像原理及其在中枢神经系统的初步应用

通过对水分子扩散运动的测量,扩散张量成像（ＤＴＩ）可以无创地对组织结构进行评价,而扩散峰度成像（ＤＫＩ）是以DTI为基础,对生物组织内水分子扩散的非高斯分布特征进行定量分析,揭示组织结构细微改变。DKI较DTI能提供更多关于组织微观结构的信息。综述DKI的原理及其在中枢神经系统的应用,包括神经退行性疾病、创伤性脑损伤、缺血性脑卒中、胶质瘤、多发性硬化、脑发育等。     

扩散加权成像在卵巢肿瘤中的应用

扩散加权成像(DWI)是目前唯一能够检测生物组织内水分子扩散运动的无创方法 ,该种扩散运动可以通过表观扩散系数(ADC)来量化分析。扩散峰度成像(DKI)、体素内不相干运动(IVIM)成像、背景抑制扩散加权全身成像(DWIBS)等DWI新技术用于卵巢肿瘤的评估提高了卵巢肿瘤影像诊断的准确性。综述DWI及其新技术在卵巢肿瘤定性诊断、分期、疗效评估、预后判断中的作用及其潜在缺陷。     

功能MRI在儿童肾脏疾病诊断中的研究进展

儿童肾脏疾病可导致肾功能持续下降,需及时监测并控制其进展。目前,多种功能MRI(fMRI)技术已逐步用于儿童肾脏研究,不仅能明确肾脏结构有无异常,还可从肾脏水分子扩散、血氧水平等微观角度对肾功能进行评估,包括扩散加权成像（DWI）、扩散张量成像（DTI）、扩散张量纤维束示踪成像（DTT）、扩散峰度成像（DKI）、血氧水平依赖（BOLD）成像、MR灌注成像。介绍儿童肾脏的生理解剖特点,并综述fMRI在肾脏发育异常、慢性肾脏病、感染性病变、肿瘤性病变等多种疾病中的研究进展。     

扩散张量成像在脑小血管病中的研究进展

脑小血管病（CSVD）是引起痴呆、认知下降、步态障碍、卒中等的主要原因之一,临床常根据其MRI表现诊断。扩散张量成像（DTI）作为目前唯一能无创在体显示白质微观结构的MRI技术,可通过不同参数及后处理分析方法提供组织微结构信息,在CSVD的发生发展机制、严重程度及疾病进展等方面研究中起着非常重要的作用。综述DTI主要参数及常见后处理分析方法在CSVD研究中的应用现状及进展。     

Q-ball imaging.

Magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) provides a powerful tool for mapping neural histoarchitecture in vivo. However, DTI can only resolve a single fiber orientation within each imaging voxel due to the constraints of the tensor model. For example, DTI cannot resolve fibers crossing, bending, or twisting within an individual voxel. Intravoxel fiber crossing can be resolved using q-space diffusion imaging, but q-space imaging requires large pulsed field gradients and time-intensive sampling. It is also possible to resolve intravoxel fiber crossing using mixture model decomposition of the high angular resolution diffusion imaging (HARDI) signal, but mixture modeling requires a model of the underlying diffusion process.Recently, it has been shown that the HARDI signal can be reconstructed model-independently using a spherical tomographic inversion called the Funk-Radon transform, also known as the spherical Radon transform. The resulting imaging method, termed q-ball imaging, can resolve multiple intravoxel fiber orientations and does not require any assumptions on the diffusion process such as Gaussianity or multi-Gaussianity. The present paper reviews the theory of q-ball imaging and describes a simple linear matrix formulation for the q-ball reconstruction based on spherical radial basis function interpolation. Open aspects of the q-ball reconstruction algorithm are discussed.     

Theory of diffusion tensor imaging and fiber tractography analysis

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) techniques have been increasingly applied to the study of molecular displacement (diffusion) in biologic tissue. The magnetic resonance measurement of an effective diffusion tensor of water in tissues can provide unique biologically and clinically relevant information that is not available from other imaging modalities. For this purpose Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) is applied. DTI is an MRI variation that may significantly improve our understanding of brain structure and neural connectivity. DTI measures are thought to be representative of brain tissue microstructure and are particularly useful for examining organized brain regions, such as white matter tract areas. DTI measures the water diffusion tensor using diffusion weighted pulse sequences sensitive to microscopic random water motion. The resultant images display and allow for quantification of how water diffuses along axes or diffusion encoding directions. This can help measure and quantify a tissue's orientation and structure, making it an ideal tool for examining cerebral white matter and neural fiber tracts. In this article we discuss the theory on which DTI depends on, how can be used in mapping fiber tracts. Also the fiber tracking algorithms are presented.     

磁共振扩散成像及磁敏感加权成像在脊髓损伤中的应用

目前,脊髓MR成像常规检查是诊断脊髓损伤的最佳手段,能清楚地显示受损伤脊髓形态及信号改变,以此明确疾病,但是当MRI常规检查出现信号改变时往往提示脊髓损伤严重,并非病变的早期,使得病人错过最佳治疗时期。而MR扩散加权成像(DWI)和磁敏感加权成像(SWI)对脊髓损伤的早期诊断、治疗和预后均具有重要价值。对DWI及SWI在急慢性脊髓损伤中的应用情况及研究进展进行综述。     

磁共振DWI及DTI在肾透明细胞癌与乏脂性肾血管平滑肌脂肪瘤鉴别中的价值

目的探讨磁共振扩散加权成像(DWI)及扩散张量成像(DTI)在肾透明细胞癌(ccRCC)与乏脂性肾血管平滑肌脂肪瘤(MFAML)鉴别诊断中的价值。方法回顾性搜集行腹部MRI检查、经手术病理证实为ccRCC及MFAML的患者共55例(ccRCC 42例,MFAML 13例)。两组患者均行1.5T(GE 1.5T Signa HDXT,美国)MRI常规T1WI、T2WI扫描、LAVA增强扫描、DWI(b=0,600 s/mm^2)、DTI序列扫描(b=0,600 s/mm^2,在6个方向)。由两位放射科医师采用双盲法进行图像分析和测量。在ADW4.6工作站上应用Functool后处理软件进行后处理,使用DWI序列生成ADC图,使用DTI序列生成ADC图和FA图,分别在相应的ADC图和FA图中的ccRCC及MFAML病灶实质部分放置ROI,测量各ROI的ADC值及FA值,对两次测量结果的平均值进行统计分析。应用组内相关系数(ICC)检验两观察者所测数据一致性。使用独立样本t检验比较DWI的ADC值(ADCDWI)及DTI的ADC值(ADCDTI)在ccRCC与MFAML之间的差异,使用Mann-Whitney U检验比较FA值在ccRCC与MFAML之间的差异。应用ROC曲线分析DWI的ADCDWI值及DTI参数中ADCDTI值、FA值对鉴别ccRCC与MFAML的诊断效能,并且分析ADCDWI、ADCDTI及FA值三者联合诊断对鉴别ccRCC与MFAML的效能。结果两位观察者测量各参数的一致性良好。ccRCC的ADCDWI值显著高于MFAML[(1.93±0.44)×10^-3mm^2/s与(1.40±0.29)×10^-3mm^2/s,P<0.001],ccRCC的ADCDTI值显著高于MFAML[(2.06±0.45)×10^-3mm^2/s与(1.63±0.33)×10^-3mm^2/s,P=0.002],但ccRCC的FA值显著低于MFAML[(0.20±0.07)与(0.31±0.20),P=0.020]。ADCDWI值对鉴别ccRCC与MFAML的曲线下面积为0.845,阈值为1.63×10^-3mm^2/s时,其诊断ccRCC排除MFAML的敏感性和特异性分别为71.4%、84.6%;ADCDTI值对鉴别两者的曲线下面积为0.788,阈值为1.77×10^-3mm^2/s时,其诊断ccRCC排除MFAML的敏感性和特异性分别为76.2%、76.9%;FA值对鉴别两者的曲线下面积为0.722,阈值为0.27时,其诊断ccRCC排除MFAML的敏感性和特异性分别为88.1%、53.8%。应用ADCDTI与FA联合诊断鉴别ccRCC和MFAML的效能具有较高的诊断效能,ROC曲线下面积达到0.811,并且诊断特异性达到92.3%。结论磁共振DWI及DTI均能有效鉴别ccRCC与MFAML。其中,ADCDWI对鉴别两者有更高的诊断效能及诊断特异性。应用DWI及DTI的参数进行联合诊断更能提高对两者的诊断效能及敏感性。     

Eddy current correction in diffusion-weighted imaging using pairs of images acquired with opposite diffusion gradient polarity.

In echo-planar-based diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), the evaluation of diffusion parameters such as apparent diffusion coefficients and anisotropy indices is affected by image distortions that arise from residual eddy currents produced by the diffusion-sensitizing gradients. Correction methods that coregister diffusion-weighted and non-diffusion-weighted images suffer from the different contrast properties inherent in these image types. Here, a postprocessing correction scheme is introduced that makes use of the inverse characteristics of distortions generated by gradients with reversed polarity. In this approach, only diffusion-weighted images with identical contrast are included for correction. That is, non-diffusion-weighted images are not needed as a reference for registration. Furthermore, the acquisition of an additional dataset with moderate diffusion-weighting as suggested by Haselgrove and Moore (Magn Reson Med 1996;36:960-964) is not required. With phantom data it is shown that the theoretically expected symmetry of distortions is preserved in the images to a very high degree, demonstrating the practicality of the new method. Results from human brain images are also presented.