Influence of Multiband Technique on Temporal Diffusion Spectroscopy and Its Diagnostic Value in Breast Tumors.

Abstract

Background: Temporal diffusion spectroscopy (TDS) is a noninvasive diffusion imaging technique used to characterizing cellular microstructures. The influence of multiband (MB) on TDS, particularly in breast tumor imaging remain unknown.

Purpose: To investigate the influence of MB on TDS in terms of scanning time, image quality, and quantitative parameters and to assess the diagnostic value of TDS with MB in breast tumors.

Study type: Prospective.

Population: Seventy-one women with 71 confirmed lesions.

Field strength/sequence: 3.0 T; oscillating gradient spin-echo (OGSE), OGSE with MB, and pulsed gradient spin-echo, and routine magnetic resonance imaging squences.

Assessment: TDS with MB was used to assess diagnostic efficacy in differentiating benign and malignant tumors. A comparison of scanning time and image quality was performed in 17 patients. Imaging parameters were analyzed using limited spectrally edited diffusion (IMPULSED) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values were compared between MB and non-MB protocols. The cell diameter from TDS was compared with histopathological measurements in 21 patients.

Statistical tests: Bland-Altman plot, paired t test, Mann-Whitney U test, kappa test, DeLong's test, intraclass correlation coefficient agreement, receiver operating characteristic curve, area under the curve (AUC), and simple linear regression, with statistical significance set at P < 0.05.

Results: The TDS with MB protocol had a shorter average scanning time than that without MB protocol (7 minutes 22 seconds vs. 12 minutes 28 seconds); image quality was improved by reducing image artifacts. Most IMPULSED parameters and ADC values did not significantly differ between the MB and non-MB protocols (P = 0.23, P = 0.17). The IMPULSED parameters of cellularity and intracellular volume fraction achieved the highest AUC values for distinguishing breast tumors (0.865 and 0.821, respectively), surpassing the diagnostic efficiency of conventional ADC-1000 (0.776). The correlation between IMPULSED parameters and microscopic cell size was strong (r = 0.842).

Data conclusion: The MB technique improved the TDS protocol's efficiency and reduced the image artifacts. TDS parameters correlated with pathological findings and showed good performance in differentiating benign from malignant breast tumors.

Plain language summary: We explored the impact of simultaneous multislice acquisition technology on temporal diffusion spectroscopy (TDS) and whether combining this method could help distinguish benign from malignant breast tumors. Our findings showed that simultaneous multislice acquisition technology shortened the scanning time and improved image quality by reducing motion-related issues. Additionally, measurements of cell size using simultaneous multislice acquisition technology matched well with results from pathology tests. Overall, our study suggests that simultaneous multislice acquisition enhanced TDS could make breast cancer diagnosis more accurate and efficient, offering good advantages compared to conventional imaging methods.

Level of evidence: 2 TECHNICAL EFFICACY: Stage 2.