Diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) serves as one of the most important functional magnetic
resonance imaging techniques in abdominal and pelvic imaging. It is designed to reflect
the diffusion of water molecules and is particularly sensitive to the malignancies.
Yet, the limitations of image distortion and artifacts in single-shot DWI may hamper
its widespread use in clinical practice. With recent technical advances in DWI, such
as simultaneous multi-slice excitation, computed or reduced field-of-view techniques,
as well as advanced shimming methods, it is possible to achieve shorter acquisition
time, better image quality, and higher robustness in abdominopelvic DWI. This review
discussed the recent advances of each DWI approach, and highlighted its future perspectives
in abdominal and pelvic imaging, hoping to familiarize physicians and radiologists
with the technical improvements in this field and provide future research directions.
Key Words
Abbreviations:
aDWI (actual DWI), ADC (apparent diffusion coefficient), AF (acceleration factor), AI (artificial intelligence), BH (breath-hold), cDWI (computed DWI), CNR (contrast-to-noise ratio), DKI (diffusion kurtosis imaging), DWI (diffusion weighted imaging), FB (free breathing), FOV (field-of-view), HCC (hepatocellular carcinoma), iShim (integrated slice-by-slice shimming), IVIM (intravoxel incoherent motion), ME (mono-exponential), MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), NT (navigator triggered), OGSE (oscillating gradient spin echo), pTx (parallel transmission), PCa (prostate cancer), PI (parallel imaging), PINS (power independent of the number of slices), rFOV (reduced field-of-view), RESOLVE (readout segmentation of long variable echo trains), RF (radiofrequency), RT (respiratory triggered), ss-DWI (single-shot DWI), SAR (specific absorption rate), SMS (simultaneous multi-slice), SNR (signal-to-noise ratio), TE (echo times)To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: August 27, 2022
Accepted:
July 23,
2022
Received in revised form:
July 20,
2022
Received:
May 31,
2022
Identification
Copyright
© 2022 The Association of University Radiologists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
