Clinical usefulness of the fast protocol of breast diffusion-weighted imaging using 3T magnetic resonance imaging with a 16-channel breast coil

Abstract

We aimed to evaluate the usefulness of a fast protocol of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) with one excitation using 3T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and a 16-channel breast coil. We analyzed 30 lesions from 27 women between February 2020 and June 2020. The visibility score (from 1 = extremely poor to 5 = excellent) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) value between one and four excitations were evaluated by two readers. The image acquisition time was 40 s for one excitation and 1 min 52 s for four excitations. The visibility scores were 4.630 ± 0.718 and 4.267 ± 1.015 for one excitation and 4.730 ± 0.691 and 4.200 ± 1.000 for four excitations by the two readers. There was no significant difference in the visibility (P = 0.184 and P = 0.423), mean ADC value (P = 0.918 and P = 0.417), and minimum ADC value (P = 0.936 and P = 0.443) between one and four excitations by the two readers. Despite the short acquisition time, the visibility score and ADC values of one-excitation DWI were comparable to that with four excitations. Our fast DWI protocol could provide reproducible visibility and ADC value, potentially helping radiologists to efficiently diagnose patients.