Purpose: To evaluate differences in apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values between head, body, and tail regions and the impact of sets of b-values used in diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) of the normal pancreas. Materials and Methods:In 51 healthy volunteers echoplanar DWI of the pancreas was prospectively performed with b-values of 50, 400, and 800 s/mm 2 . All four possible combinations of b-values were used to calculate ADC values in a total of 587 regions in the pancreas head, body, and tail regions. Dependency of ADC values on the anatomical regions and on the applied sets of b-values was calculated using multivariate analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results:Mean ADC values differed significantly between the anatomical regions with the lowest values measured in the pancreatic tail (head 1.13 6 0.20, body 1.05 6 0.20, and tail 0.94 6 0.18 Â 10 À3 mm 2 /s; P < 0.05). ANOVA showed no dependency of ADC values on the sets of b-values used.Conclusion: ADC values differed significantly between the pancreatic head, body, and tail region, with decreasing ADC values toward the tail. Cautious interpretation of DWI results with adjusted, normalized values adapted to the anatomical region seems advisable. The knowledge of such differences may enhance the method's capability to differentiate between different pancreatic pathologies.

The aim of this study was to investigate equipment availability and current diagnostic strategies for suspected pulmonary embolism (PE) in Austrian hospitals. A questionnaire was sent to the medical directors of all Austrian hospitals with emergency and/or surgical, orthopedic, and medical departments. The questionnaire contained questions regarding the available equipment suitable for the imaging diagnosis of PE, the first-line and second-line imaging tests for patients with suspected PE, and additional lower extremity venous imaging and laboratory tests that complement the diagnostic armamentarium. The return rate for questionnaires was 81% (127 of 157 hospitals). There were 97% of hospitals that had the equipment to perform sonography, 59% could perform pulmonary angiography, 54% spiral CT, 19% ventilation/perfusion (V/P) scintigraphy, and 4% perfusion scintigraphy alone. Spiral-CT angiography (SCTA) was the first-line imaging study for suspected PE in 56% of hospitals, followed by echocardiography and V/P scintigraphy. Lower extremity venous imaging (47%) and, interestingly, V/P scintigraphy (43%), served as second-line imaging tests. D-dimer tests were included in the diagnostic strategy in 74% of hospitals. Spiral-CT angiography is the most commonly used primary method for suspected PE in Austrian hospitals. The V/P scintigraphy is available only in a minority of hospitals to investigate patients with suspected PE. When V/P scintigraphy is available, however, it is employed in a large number of patients per annum.

This study found that both intravascular tracer availability (SUV(blood-pool)) and intralesional tracer uptake (SUV(max)) are influenced by renal function. Calculation of TBR to account for that effect may result in overcorrection in case of [(18)F]-FDG. Renal insufficiency or subclinical changes in renal function have to be considered as a confounding factor in PET of atherosclerotic lesions.

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