Diffusion-Weighted Whole-Body Imaging with Background Body Signal Suppression (DWIBS)

TLDR: Three-dimensional DWIBS can be obtained with this technique, which may allow us to screen for malignancies in the whole body through diffusion weighted whole body imaging with background body signal suppression.

Abstract: In applying diffusion-weighted whole-body imaging with background body signal suppression (DWIBS) technique, DW-MR images are acquired during free breathing, which results in images with high signal-to-noise ratio using relatively thin image sections (4–5 mm). Image acquisition during free breathing is possible because bulk tissue motion, including respiratory motion, may be considered as types of coherent motion, which do not result in significant signal loss unlike intravoxel incoherent motion, which reflects random water motion at a cellular level. The concept of DWIBS allows handling of the acquired images as a volumetric dataset and it exploits both prolonged T2 relaxation time and impeded diffusion that the majority of solid lesions (both benign and malignant) exhibit as mechanisms for image contrast, which is used for clinical evaluation of diseases.