Preliminary Experience of 5.0 T Higher Field Abdominal Diffusion-Weighted MRI: Agreement of Apparent Diffusion Coefficient With 3.0 T Imaging

Background Recently, a prototype 5.0 T whole-body MRI scanner was developed. A 5.0 T diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) may help overcome the issues that limit 3.0 T DWI. Purpose To evaluate the feasibility of 5.0 T high-field DWI in the upper abdomen and assess the agreement of the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) with that from 3.0 T abdominal DWI. Study type Prospective proof of concept. Population Nine volunteers (mean +/- SD age: 37.3 +/- 7.0 years, 8 M), eight healthy and one with liver and kidney cysts. Field strength/Sequence 3.0 T and 5.0 T; respiratory-triggered spin-echo echo-planar-imaging (SE-EPI)-based DWI sequence. Assessment Subjective image quality scores. The ADC values in abdominal organs (liver, pancreas, spleen, and kidney) were measured by two observers for evaluating the interobserver and interfield agreement. Statistical Tests Wilcoxon-rank sum test, Bland-Altman analysis, intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs), and coefficients of variation (CVs). Results The 5.0 T DWI displayed an increase in subjective image quality score compared to 3.0 T DWI without the significant difference (3.0 T DWI: 3.50 +/- 0.47, 5.0 T DWI: 3.72 +/- 0.42, P = 0.157). Both the interfield and interobserver agreements of ADC values were substantial to excellent (ICCs = 0.640-0.902). For all four upper abdominal organs, there were no significant differences between the ADC values measured by two observers and between the ADC values of 3.0 T and 5.0 T DWI (P = 0.134-1.000). The CVs of ADC measurements from 3.0 T and 5.0 T DWI were all less than 15.0% (6.7%-14.2%). Data Conclusion The substantial to excellent agreements between the ADC values measured with 3.0 T and 5.0 T DWI for liver, pancreas, spleen, and kidney suggested that 5.0 T DWI can be applied for abdominal imaging. The ADC values from 5.0 T abdominal DWI hold the potential to serve as the quantitative markers for clinical investigations. Evidence Level 2 Technical Efficacy Stage 1