Differentiating Benign and Malignant Thyroid Nodules Using Time-Dependent Diffusion MRI

Motivation: The differential diagnosis between benign and malignant thyroid nodules is crucial for treatment planning and prognostic evaluation. However, there is no ideal method for distinguishing thyroid nodules. Goal(s): To investigates whether microstructural parameters from time-dependent diffusion MRI (td-dMRI) can distinguish between benign and malignant thyroid lesions. Approach: Thirty-two patients with thyroid nodules underwent td-dMRI prior to treatment. Microstructural parameters were fitted using the IMPULSED model for statistical analysis. Results: The combined model based on td-dMRI showed high performance to select malignant lesions from benign thyroid nodules. Impact: The combined model integrating apparent diffusion coefficient and microstructural parameters microstructural parameters based on td-dMRI holds potential to differentiate between benign and malignant thyroid nodules. This distinction is critically important for the diagnosis and management of thyroid nodules.