Usefulness of Adaptive Complex Signal Average Diffusion-weighted MR Imaging of the Abdomen
Abstract
PURPOSE: To evaluate the clinical feasibility and quantitative performance of adaptive complex signal average (ACSA) diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) in abdominal MRI and to compare ACSA DWI with conventional non-ACSA DWI in terms of signal intensity (SI), SNR, apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), signal intensity difference ratio (SIDR), and lesion contrast across different numbers of excitations (NEX). METHODS: This retrospective study included 82 patients who underwent free-breathing abdominal DWI on a 3T system between January and July 2025. ACSA DWI was reconstructed from the same raw data as non-ACSA DWI using a combination of adaptive averaging and complex-domain averaging. ROIs were placed in the liver, pancreas, left adrenal gland, and spinal muscles to measure SI, SNR, and ADC. SIDR and inter-lobar right-left (R-L) ratio in SI and ADC were calculated at NEX 2, 3, and 4. For 37 patients with non-cystic hepatic nodules, lesion SI, ADC, contrast ratio, and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) were assessed. RESULTS: ACSA DWI significantly increased SI and SNR in motion-prone organs, including the lateral hepatic segment, pancreas, and left adrenal gland, at all NEX levels (P < 0.05). ADC values in abdominal parenchymal organs and hepatic nodules were lower with ACSA DWI, reflecting the noise-floor suppression and adaptive average effects. R-L SI and ADC ratios were significantly different and were closer to 1 in ACSA DWI, indicating improved hepatic signal homogeneity. Lesion SI, contrast ratio, and CNR were significantly higher with ACSA DWI, enhancing nodule conspicuity. CONCLUSION: ACSA DWI improves signal uniformity, SNR, and lesion contrast while maintaining reasonable ADC quantification. Without prolonging scan time or modifying acquisition parameters, ACSA provides a robust, clinically feasible post-processing technique for enhancing both image quality and quantitative reliability in abdominal DWI.
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BibTeX
@article{matsukuma2026usefulness,
title = {{Usefulness of Adaptive Complex Signal Average Diffusion-weighted MR Imaging of the Abdomen}},
author = {Miwa Matsukuma and Masahiro Tanabe and Mayumi Higashi and Masatoshi Yamane and Masahiro Abe and Ryutaro Yano and Haruki Furutani and Jo Ishii and Katsuyoshi Ito},
journal = {Magnetic Resonance in Medical Sciences},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.2463/mrms.mp.2026-0009},
url = {https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/mrms/25/4/25_mp.2026-0009/_article},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Usefulness of Adaptive Complex Signal Average Diffusion-weighted MR Imaging of the Abdomen
AU - Miwa Matsukuma
AU - Masahiro Tanabe
AU - Mayumi Higashi
AU - Masatoshi Yamane
AU - Masahiro Abe
AU - Ryutaro Yano
AU - Haruki Furutani
AU - Jo Ishii
AU - Katsuyoshi Ito
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/25
JO - Magnetic Resonance in Medical Sciences
DO - 10.2463/mrms.mp.2026-0009
UR - https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/mrms/25/4/25_mp.2026-0009/_article
AB - PURPOSE: To evaluate the clinical feasibility and quantitative performance of adaptive complex signal average (ACSA) diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) in abdominal MRI and to compare ACSA DWI with conventional non-ACSA DWI in terms of signal intensity (SI), SNR, apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), signal intensity difference ratio (SIDR), and lesion contrast across different numbers of excitations (NEX). METHODS: This retrospective study included 82 patients who underwent free-breathing abdominal DWI on a 3T system between January and July 2025. ACSA DWI was reconstructed from the same raw data as non-ACSA DWI using a combination of adaptive averaging and complex-domain averaging. ROIs were placed in the liver, pancreas, left adrenal gland, and spinal muscles to measure SI, SNR, and ADC. SIDR and inter-lobar right-left (R-L) ratio in SI and ADC were calculated at NEX 2, 3, and 4. For 37 patients with non-cystic hepatic nodules, lesion SI, ADC, contrast ratio, and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) were assessed. RESULTS: ACSA DWI significantly increased SI and SNR in motion-prone organs, including the lateral hepatic segment, pancreas, and left adrenal gland, at all NEX levels (P < 0.05). ADC values in abdominal parenchymal organs and hepatic nodules were lower with ACSA DWI, reflecting the noise-floor suppression and adaptive average effects. R-L SI and ADC ratios were significantly different and were closer to 1 in ACSA DWI, indicating improved hepatic signal homogeneity. Lesion SI, contrast ratio, and CNR were significantly higher with ACSA DWI, enhancing nodule conspicuity. CONCLUSION: ACSA DWI improves signal uniformity, SNR, and lesion contrast while maintaining reasonable ADC quantification. Without prolonging scan time or modifying acquisition parameters, ACSA provides a robust, clinically feasible post-processing technique for enhancing both image quality and quantitative reliability in abdominal DWI.
SN - 1880-2206
SN - 1347-3182
ER -