Does the Protein Content Influence on DWI-Thermometry?: Artificial CSF Phantom Study

Koji Sakai¹, Ryusuke Nakai¹, Kei Yamada², Jun Tazoe², Kentaro Akazawa², Naozo Sugimoto¹

Among these MR methods, the most clinically applicable may be the post processing of diffusion-weighted images (DWI). However, this DWI-based method might be influenced by the composition of the CSF, which can strongly affect its viscosity and diffusivity. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of protein content on DWI thermometry by using artificial CSF (ACSF) with variable protein concentrations. The protein content of ACSF increased viscosity and decreased the diffusion coefficient. Consequently, the results of DWI thermometry were influenced by the protein content in the range of 0.10 to 1.11 mg/ml (0.10 C 0.42C).