High Fidelity Imaging of Tissue Heterogeneity, Micro-Anisotropy and Diffusion-Time Effects in Prostate Cancer

Motivation: Clinical diffusion MRI for prostate cancer diagnosis has limited sensitivity and specificity to heterogenous microstructural changes. Goal(s): Quantify time-dependent diffusion and diffusional variance at a high spatial resolution in human prostate in vivo. Approach: The diffusion encoding waveforms were tailored to probe micro-anisotropy and diffusion time effects at high b-values. Ultra-strong gradients and spiral readout enabled high-resolution and high image fidelity at a high SNR. Results: Significant time-dependent diffusion was observed in all diffusion parameters in three volunteers, including prostate cancer patients. Impact: The proposed methodology enables evaluation of microscopic anisotropy and time-dependent diffusion in the prostate and provides insights into how dMRI should be interpreted at low and high b-values. The produced diffusion parameters may serve as biomarker candidates in future studies.