Implementation of Dual-Source RF Excitation in 3 T MR-Scanners Allows for Nearly Identical ADC Values Compared to 1.5 T MR Scanners in the Abdomen

BACKGROUND To retrospectively and prospectively compare abdominal apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values obtained within in a 1.5 T system and 3 T systems with and without dual-source parallel RF excitation techniques. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS After IRB approval, diffusion-weighted (DW) images of the abdomen were obtained on three different MR systems (1.5 T, a first generation 3 T, and a second generation 3 T which incorporates dual-source parallel RF excitation) on 150 patients retrospectively and 19 volunteers (57 examinations total) prospectively. Seven regions of interest (ROI) were throughout the abdomen were selected to measure the ADC. Statistical analysis included independent two-sided t-tests, Mann-Whitney U tests and correlation analysis. In the DW images of the abdomen, mean ADC values were nearly identical with nonsignificant differences when comparing the 1.5 T and second generation 3 T systems in all seven anatomical regions in the patient population and six of the seven in the volunteer population (p>0.05 in all distributions). The strength of correlation measured in the volunteer population between the two scanners in the kidneys ranged from r = 0.64-0.88 and in the remaining regions (besides the spleen), r>0.85. In the patient population the first generation 3 T scanner had different mean ADC values with significant differences (p<0.05) compared to the other two scanners in each of the seven distributions. In the volunteer population, the kidneys shared similar ADC mean values in comparison to the other two scanners with nonsignificant differences. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE A second generation 3 T scanner with dual-source parallel RF excitation provides nearly identical ADC values compared with the 1.5 T imaging system in abdominal imaging.