Michael C. Yang1, Yi Sui2, Lei Tang, 23, Albert Y. Yang4, Eric J. Zhang2, Guanzhong Liu2, Virgilia Macias5, Andre Balla5, Leslie Deane6, Xiaohong
1Department of Radiology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States; 2Center for MR Research, University of Illinois at Chicago; 3Department of Radiology, Peking University Cancer Hospital, Beijing, China; 4College of Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago; 5Department of Pathology, University of Illinois at Chicago; 6Department of Urology, University of Illinois at Chicago
Diffusion imaging using multiple b-values has great potential for revealing tissue structural information beyond what an apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) can provide. In this study, in addition to conventional images, multi-b-value diffusion imaging using a novel stretched-exponential model was applied to patients with biopsy-proven prostate cancer to evaluate its clinical utility for cancer detection. The series of diffusion images at multi-b-values was analyzed to yield quantitative values of distributed diffusion coefficient (DDC) and stretch exponent 8 5. The maps based on these new parameters demonstrate significantly higher contrast and detectibility of prostate cancer than conventional ADC maps.