Kiyohisa Kamimura1, Masanori Nakajo1, Yoshihiko Fukukura1, Takashi Iwanaga2, Tomonori Saito2, Masashi Sasaki2, Takuro Fujisaki2, Atsushi Takemura3, Tomoyuki Okuaki 3, and Takashi Yoshiura1
1Radiology, Kagoshima University Medical and Dental Hospital, Kagoshima, Japan, 2Clinical Engineering Department Radiation Section, Kagoshima University Hospital, Kagoshima, Japan, 3Philips Electronics Japan, Tokyo, Japan
Our purpose was to evaluate the
feasibility of intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) assessment based on turbo
spin-echo diffusion-weighted imaging (TSE-DWI) in the normal pituitary gland.
In a validation study using normal brain white matter (WM), Bland-Altman
analyses revealed fair to good agreement with conventional echo-planar-based
DWI (EP-DWI) in the true diffusion coefficient (D) and perfusion fraction (f).
In 7 volunteers, both D and f in the anterior pituitary lobe were significantly
higher than those in WM, being consistent with high microvascular density in
the pituitary gland. Results demonstrated that IVIM assessment based on TSE-DWI
in the pituitary gland is feasible.
