Abstract #3080

Relations between the stretched exponential DWI model and tumor malignancy related microstructural changes

Chu-Yu Lee¹, Kevin M Bennett², Josef P Debbins³, In-Young Choi^1,4,5, and Phil Lee^1,5

¹Hoglund Brain Imaging Center, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas city, KS, United States, ²Department of Biology, University of Hawaii, Manoa, HI, United States, ³Neuroimaging research, Barrow Neurological Institute, Phoenix, AZ, United States, ⁴Department of Neurology, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS, United States, ⁵Department of Molecular & Integrative Physiology, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS, United States

Diffusion weighting imaging (DWI) has been shown to be useful in differentiating low- and high-grade tumors in the brain. The decreased apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) has been associated with increased tumor cellularity. However, tumor malignancy involves multiple microstructural changes that may also affect changes in the ADC. The alternative way to assess water diffusion in the complex microstructure is through the diffusion heterogeneity measured by the stretched exponential model (α-DWI). Recent studies using the α-DWI model have shown the increased diffusion heterogeneity in high-grade tumors. However, it remains unclear about the microstructural information provided by the α. The purpose of this study was to investigate how the α-DWI model responds to tumor malignancy related microstructural changes. We simulated a 3-D microenvironment in tumors and a DWI experiment. We studied how ADC and the fitted parameters of the α-DWI model responded to microstructural changes related to tumor malignancy.

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