Lori R. Arlinghaus1,2, E. Brian Welch1,3,
A. Bapsi Chakravarthy4, Jaime S. Farley5, John C. Gore1,2,
Thomas E. Yankeelov1,2
1Institute of Imaging Science,
Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States; 2Radiology
and Radiological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United
States; 3MR Clinical Science, Philips Healthcare, Cleveland, OH,
United States; 4Radiation Oncology, Vanderbilt University,
Nashville, TN, United States; 5Vanderbilt University Medical
Center, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States
Diffusion-weighted
imaging (DWI) is a promising surrogate biomarker for the characterization of
human breast cancer. However, DWI
acquisition sequences are susceptible
to artifacts induced by subject motion and eddy currents. DWIs acquired with echo planar imaging
(EPI) techniques are also prone to nonlinear distortion induced by B0
field inhomogeneities, which worsen as field strength increases. We present evidence that image registration
and B0 field map correction improve the quality of apparent
diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps derived from the DWI data and improve the
registration of the DWI data with anatomical images for comparison with other
parametric maps.