Age Dependency of Diffusion-Relaxation Coupling in the Prostate

Motivation: Luminal water imaging (LWI) strongly correlates with Gleason scores in the prostate, but conventional LWI imaging techniques are time consuming and may be confounded by age. Goal(s): Investigate the age dependency of luminal water fraction and other LWI parameters in the prostate. Approach: Use time-efficient multi-readout EPI sequences capable of acquiring images at multiple TEs in one shot to probe T2-ADC and T2*-ADC coupling in the prostate among healthy male subjects. Results: LWI parameters showed weak to moderate correlations with age. Impact: This study demonstrates the feasibility of using multi-readout DWI sequences to enable time-efficient investigation of age dependency of LWI parameters, providing valuable information for using LWI to evaluate prostate lesions.