Simultaneous Multislice Acquisition for Accelerated Readout-segmented DTI in Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy

Abstract Simultaneous Multislice Acquisition for Accelerated Readout-segmented DTI in Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy. To explore the feasibility of using a simultaneous multislice (SMS) acquisition to accelerate readout-segmented diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) for visualization and quantitative evaluation of the tibial nerve (TN) and common peroneal nerve (CPN) and to assess the diagnostic accuracy of accelerated DTI in diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN). Fifteen DPN patients and forty healthy volunteers were enrolled and underwent non-SMS and SMS-accelerated readout-segmented DTI. Two radiologists independently measured the DTI parameters of TN and CPN. We compared the differences between non-SMS and SMS-accelerated DTI and assessed the differences in the fractional anisotropy (FA) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values of TN and CPN between DPN patients and healthy volunteers. Wilcoxon rank sum test was used to compare the differences in subjective scores of image quality between the two sequences. The diagnostic efficacy of DTI parameters for DPN was evaluated using a receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC). SMS-accelerated readout-segmented DTI has similar imaging capability as non-SMS DTI, but greatly reduces the scan time, thus making it a potentially effective non-invasive modality for the diagnosis of DPN.