High-Resolution, 3D Diffusion-Weighted Breast MRI with DESS

High-resolution diffusion-weighted breast MRI allows for detection of small lesions and can distinguish between benign and malignant lesions.  The double-echo steady-state (DESS) sequence acquires two echoes separated by a spoiler gradient, which provides diffusion weighting to the second echo.  In this work, DESS was used to generate high-resolution diffusion-weighted images of the breast with shorter scan times and reduced distortion relative to conventional DWI.  The DESS sequence has potential to be used for breast lesion characterization with the benefit of not requiring exogenous contrast agent.

Granlund KL, Staroswiecki E, Alley MT, Daniel BL, Hargreaves BA. High-resolution, three-dimensional diffusion-weighted breast imaging using DESS. Magn Reson Imaging. 2014 May;32(4):330-41.

Online Journal Article

Patient images depicting various breast tumors acquired with a contrast-enhanced sequence (Post contrast) and diffusion weighting. The DESS images show higher resolution and less distortion than the conventional spin-echo EPI DWI, but with comparable image contrast. 

Senior Research Scientist - Physical, Rad/Radiological Sciences Laboratory
Professor of Radiology (Body Imaging) and, by courtesy, of Bioengineering
Professor of Radiology (Radiological Sciences Laboratory) and, by courtesy, of Electrical Engineering and of Bioengineering

Kristin Granlund and Ernesto Staroswiecki are alumni of the BMR group