Prospective Comparison of FOCUS MUSE and Single-Shot EPI DWI in Evaluating Thyroid-Associated Ophthalmopathy

Motivation: Previous studies had reported DWI can staging TAO. However, routinely used single-shot EPI (SS-EPI) DWI is prone to susceptibility distortions in orbital region, which may impact the staging performance. FOCUS MUSE is an advanced DWI technique that can alleviate susceptibility distortions. Goal(s): To prospectively compare FOCUS MUSE and SS-EPI DWI in evaluating TAO. Approach: 39 TAO patients and 26 healthy controls were enrolled, and each was imaged with both sequences. Results: Compared with SS-EPI DWI, FOCUS MUSE significantly reduced susceptibility distortions and had significantly higher SNR and CNR. FOCUS MUSE was also significantly superior to SS-EPI DWI for discriminating the activity of TAO. Impact: The treatment selection of TAO depends on its activity. FOCUS MUSE DWI exhibited significantly improved performance in the assessment of TAO staging. Therefore, the application of FOCUS MUSE DWI would be beneficial for treatment selection of TAO.