Functional MRI of the Uterus with Quantitative T2, Diffusion-Weighted, and Magnetization-Transfer Contrast Imaging

Srigouri Yalamanchili¹, Genevieve L. Bennett¹, Pippa Storey¹, Andrew B. Rosenkrantz¹

5 female volunteers underwent pelvic MRI at 1.5T that included T2-mapping, diffusion-weighted imaging, and magnetization-transfer contrast imaging, each performed through the uterus in the sagittal plane with matching slice positions. There were trends toward a longer T2 time within the endometrium, a lower ADC within the junctional zone, and a lower magnetization-transfer ratio within the myometrium. There was a moderate positive correlation between T2 and ADC, but poor correlation between T2 and MTR as well as between ADC and MTR, suggesting that MTR may reflect a characteristic of tissue not measured by either ADC or T2.