David Mark Morris1,2,
Caroline Wright3, Philip A. Baker4, Ian Crocker3,
Penny A. Gowland5, Geoff J. M. Parker1,6, Colin P.
Sibley3
1Imaging
Science & Biomedical Engineering, the University of Manchester,
Manchester, United Kingdom; 2Biomedical Imaging Institute, the
University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom; 3Maternal
& Fetal Helath Research Group, the University of Manchester, Manchester,
United Kingdom; 4Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University
of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; 5Sir Peter Mansfield
Magentic Resonance Centre, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United
Kingdom; 6Biomedical Imaging Institute, the University of
Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
Intra Voxel Incoherent Motion allows for the non-invasive assessment of flow parameters using a bi-exponential model of water diffusion. This MRI technique has been applied to the human placenta where flow changes have been associated with Fetal Growth Retardation resulting in increased perinatal mortality and morbidity. The bi-exponential model will return erroneous results where the data does not support this complex model of diffusion. The Akaike Information Criterion has been used to exclude voxels and this results in a significant increase in the values of the flow parameters.