Diffusion-Weighted MRI in the Assessment of Split Renal Function: Comparison of Navigator-Triggered Prospective Acquisition Correction and Breath-Hold Acquisition

OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this study was to ascertain whether prospective acquisition correction (PACE) diffusion-weighted MRI (DWI) is superior to conventional breath-hold DWI in assessment of split renal function. SUBJECTS AND METHODS. Fifty-four subjects underwent coronal breath-hold DWI and PACE DWI with the b value set at 0 and 800 s/mm2. Isotope renographic glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was used as the reference standard for assessing split renal function. A GFR of 40 mL/min or greater indicated normal and a GFR less than 40 mL/min indicated reduced split renal function. Reduced split renal function was further divided into a mild reduction group (GFR ≥ 20 mL/min) and a moderate-to-severe reduction group (GFR < 20 mL/min). Various comparisons between the imaging methods were conducted. RESULTS. The signal-to-noise and contrast-to-noise ratios of the PACE DW images were greater than those of the breath-hold DW images (p < 0.001). The correlation between the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) val...