Edward S. Hui1, Chu-Yu Lee2, Josef P. Debbins2, Timothy Q. Duong3, Joseph A. Helpern1
1Dept of Radiology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, United States; 2Dept of Electrical Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, United States; 3Research Imaging Institute, UTHSCSA, San Antonio, TX, United States
The diagnostic value of ADC obtained from DWI is often dwarfed by its pseudonormalization during subacute stroke. It is therefore necessary to find an alternative that is more sensitive and specific to the underlying structural changes along the course of ischemic infarction. One potential technique is diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) which measures non-Gaussianity of water diffusion. The current study showed that MK is a sensitive biomarker for ischemic injury, especially subacute stroke where MD and T2W pseudonormalize as a result of vasogenic edema. DKI could potentially complement conventional DWI for improving stroke diagnosis, particularly during the subacute phase.