Molecular imaging of the myoskeletal system through Diffusion Weighted and Diffusion Tensor Imaging with parallel imaging techniques

Diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) are useful tools when used in combination with standard imaging methods that may offer a significant advantage in certain clinical applications such as orthopedics and myoskeletal tissue imaging. Incorporation of these tools in clinical practice is limited due to the considerable amount of user intervention that apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and anisotropy data require in terms of processing and quantification require and due to the importance of acquisition parameter optimization in image quality. In this work various acquisition parameters and their effects in DWI and DTI are investigated. To assess the quality of these techniques, a series of experiments were conducted using a phantom. The application of lipid suppression techniques and their compatibility with other parameters were also investigated. Artifacts were provoked to study the effects in imaging quality. All the data were processed with specialized software to analyze various aspects of the measurements and quantify various parameters such as signal to noise ratio (SNR), contrast to noise ratio (CNR), and the accuracy of ADC and fractional anisotropy values. The experience acquired from the experiments was applied in acquisition parameter optimization and improvement of clinical applications for the rapid screening and differential diagnosis of myoskeletal pathologies.