Hazuki Takishima1, Hajime Yokota2, Takayuki Sakai3, Masami Yoneyama4, and Takashi Uno2
1Department of Radiology, Chiba University Hospital, Chiba, Japan, 2Department of Diagnostic Radiology and Radiation Oncology, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan, 3Eastern Chiba Medical Center, Togane, Japan, 4Philips Japan, Tokyo Japan, Tokyo, Japan
1Department of Radiology, Chiba University Hospital, Chiba, Japan, 2Department of Diagnostic Radiology and Radiation Oncology, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan, 3Eastern Chiba Medical Center, Togane, Japan, 4Philips Japan, Tokyo Japan, Tokyo, Japan
Echo-planar imaging with compressed SENSE (EPICS) reduced magnetic susceptibility artifact due to intestinal gas on diffusion-weighted images with keeping signals. EPICS is feasible for reducing gas-producing artifact in the upper abdomen.
Figure 2. Methodology of this study
(Upper-left) Visual score: susceptibility artifact was visually evaluated by using4-graded-score.
(Upper-right) Signal intensity ratio: SI (pancreas)/SI (spinal cord) was evaluated. Pancreatic head, body, and tail were measured.
(Lower) ADC values were measured in the pancreatic head, body, and tail.
Figure 4. Visual score of the pancreatic body
The visual score of EPICS were significantly higher than that of SENSE in the pancreatic body (P<0.001).
A solid and pseudopapillary neoplasm of pancreas in (a) EPICS and (b) SENSE. Tumor borders are obscured, and the tumor size appears to be smaller in SENSE than in EPICS due to susceptibility artifact.