Evaluating the potential of SWI-EPI MRI towards Glioma grading

Motivation: Echo planar based SWI (SWI-EPI) can provide better contrast of vasculature and higher spatial resolution compared to SWI and at shorter acquisition time. However, its potential in glioma grading has not been explored well. Goal(s): To evaluate the potential of SWI-EPI for automatic segmentation and quantification of tumor vasculature for glioma grading. Approach: Tumor vasculature for both SWI and SWI-EPI images were segmented and quantified. T-test and ROC curve analysis was used to determine statistical significance and grading accuracy. Results: Tumor vasculature features automatically computed from SWI-EPI provided improved glioma grading accuracy compared to conventional SWI based features. Impact: SWI-EPI offers advantages over SWI images in terms of image resolution and shorter acquistion time. It was found to have improved glioma grading accuracy and has the potential to be used as a routine imaging sequence in clinical settings.