Apparent Diffusion Coefficient Value Is Not Dependent on Magnetic Resonance Systems and Field Strength Under Fixed Imaging Parameters in Brain

Authors:
  • TTTakayuki Tamura
    Takayuki Tamura
  • MOMasanori Ozaki
    Masanori Ozaki
  • TDTsukasa Rt Doi
    Tsukasa Rt Doi
  • KFKoji Fujimoto
    Koji Fujimoto
  • TMTosiaki PhD Miyati
    Tosiaki PhD Miyati
  • YIYukiko Ito
    Yukiko Ito
  • FMFumie Rt Maeda
    Fumie Rt Maeda
  • HTHiroyuki Rt Tarewaki
    Hiroyuki Rt Tarewaki
  • MTMitsuyuki Rt Takahashi
    Mitsuyuki Rt Takahashi
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Abstract
Objective The aim of the study was to investigate the causes of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) measurement errors and to determine the optimal scanning parameters that are independent of the field strength and vendors of the magnetic resonance (MR) system. Materials and Methods Brain MR images of 10 healthy volunteers were scanned using 6 MR scanners of different field strengths and vendors in 2 different institutions. Ethical review board approvals were obtained for this study, and all volunteers gave their informed consents. Coefficient of variation (CV) of ADC values were compared for their differences in various MR scanners and in the scanned subjects. Results The CV of ADC values for 6 different scanners of 6 brains was 3.32%. The CV for repeated measurements in 1 day (10 scans per day) and in 10 days (scan per day for 10 days) for 1 subject was 1.72% and 2.96%, respectively (n = 5, P < 0.001). The CV of measurements for 10 healthy subjects was 5.22%. The measurement errors of the ADC values for 6 different MR units in 1 subject were higher than the intrascanner variance for the same subject but were lower than the intersubject variance for the same scanner. Conclusions The variance in the ADC values for different MR scanners is reasonably small if appropriate scanning parameters (repetition time, >3000 ms; echo time, minimum; and high enough signal-to-noise ratio of high-b diffusion-weighted image) are used.

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