Diffusion-Weighted,Triple-Fat-Suppressed Echo-Planar Imaging Provides 'Anomalous' Diffusion Metrics for Assessment of Muscle Quality in the Human Thigh

In diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) of the thigh, anomalous diffusion models may better reflect muscle architecture than conventional Gaussian models. In this work, four models were investigatedmonoexponential, intravoxel incoherent motion, diffusional kurtosis, and stretched exponentialand a triple-fat-suppressed sequence was developed to mitigate fat contributions. Eight volunteers were scanned at 3T, with sixteen b-values applied in the slice and read directions, and diffusion parameter maps were generated. In the read direction, kurtosis and the stretching parameter were non-Gaussian (>0 and <1), and the stretched exponential fit the data bestsuggesting some merit for non-Gaussian models in assessment of muscle quality.

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