Effects of echo time on diffusion quantification of brain white matter at 1.5T and 3.0T

The aim was to investigate the effects of echo time (TE) on diffusion quantification of brain white matter. Seven rhesus monkeys (all males; age, 4–6 years; weight, 5–7 kg) underwent diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) with a series of TEs in 1.5T and 3.0T MR scanners. The mean diffusivity (MD), fractional anisotropy (FA), primary (λ1), and transverse eigenvalues (λ23) were measured in a region of interest at the bilateral internal capsule. Pearson correlation showed that the FA and λ1 increased and λ23 decreased with TE both at 1.5T and 3.0T except for the MD. Repeated measurement analysis of variance (ANOVA) also showed significantly higher FA and lower MD and λ23 at 3.0T than those at 1.5T (P < 0.01), but no statistical differences were found in λ1 between these two field strengths (P = 0.709). These findings implied that TE and field strength might influence diffusion quantification in brain white matter. Magn Reson Med, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

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