Fat-corrected non-Gaussian diffusion MRI in a non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: diagnostic performance for liver fibrosis

Motivation: In nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), hepatic fibrosis is strongly associated with patient survival. Diffusion MRI has been proposed to assess liver fibrosis, but this evaluation is hampered in hepatic steatosis. Goal(s): Our goal was to evaluate the diagnostic performance of non-Gaussian diffusion MRI in assessing liver fibrosis in 250 patients with NAFLD. Approach: We developed a method to calculate the non-Gaussian diffusion coefficient, based on non-linear regression and fat correction. Results: With this corrected diffusion method, NAFLD patients with liver fibrosis could be differentiated from patients without it. Impact: With this corrected diffusion method, NAFLD patients with liver fibrosis could be differentiated from patients without it.