Effect of motion on the ADC quantification accuracy of whole-body DWIBS

Abstract

Diffusion-weighted whole-body imaging with background body signal subtraction was introduced as a qualitative approach to detecting metastases in the body. A liver-mimicking phantom with embedded tumours that could be moved to replicate respiratory motion was developed to assess its ability to accurately quantify ADC values. Mean tumour ADC values were unaltered by the motion; however, a significant (p < 0.05) increase in the spread of ADC values was measured, even for relatively large tumours. These findings may be of significance in cancer therapy monitoring where subtle changes in ADC histograms may reveal changes in tumour heterogeneity.