Diffusion-weighted imaging of the sellar region: A comparison study of BLADE and single-shot echo planar imaging sequences

Abstract Purpose The purpose of this study is to compare BLADE diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) with single-shot echo planar imaging (EPI) DWI on the aspects of feasibility of imaging the sellar region and image quality. Methods A total of 3 healthy volunteers and 52 patients with suspected lesions in the sellar region were included in this prospective intra-individual study. All exams were performed at 3.0 T with a BLADE DWI sequence and a standard single-shot EP-DWI sequence. Phantom measurements were performed to measure the objective signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Two radiologists rated the image quality according to the visualisation of the internal carotid arteries, optic chiasm, pituitary stalk, pituitary gland and lesion, and the overall image quality. One radiologist measured lesion sizes for detecting their relationship with the image score. Results The SNR in BLADE DWI sequence showed no significant difference from the single-shot EPI sequence ( P  > 0.05). All of the assessed regions received higher scores in BLADE DWI images than single-shot EP-DWI.