BackgroundThe aim of this study was to compare intravoxel incoherent motion diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (IVIM DW MRI) to T1 mapping for characterization of hepatic alveolar echinococcosis (HAE).Material/MethodsEighteen HAE patients confirmed by surgery were examined with conventional MRI, IVIM DWI MRI with 10 b values (range: 0–1,000 sec/mm2), and longitudinal relaxation time (T1) mapping. Diffusion coefficient (D), perfusion fraction (f), pseudo-diffusion coefficient (D*), and T1 relaxation time were calculated in solid components, perilesional components, and background liver parenchyma of HAE patients. The correlation between T1 relaxation time and IVIM-derived parameters was assessed by using the Pearson correlation test.ResultsT1 relaxation times were significantly higher in solid components (820.58±331.24 ms) compared to background components (551.52±182.93 ms) of HAE patients (p<0.05). IVIM-derived D values were significantly higher in solid components (1.30±0.28×10−3 mm2/sec) compared to perilesional components (0.88±0.28×10−3 mm2/sec) and background liver parenchyma (0.97±0.27×10−3 mm2/sec) of liver parenchyma. There were significant differences in f values between solid components (13.70±7.66%), perilesional components (23.59±10.73%) and background liver parenchyma (30.78±10.18%). IVIM derived D* values were significantly lower in solid components (14.32±10.85×10−3 mm2/sec) than in background liver parenchyma (30.06±15.68×10−3 mm2/sec). Importantly, IVIM-derived f values were significantly correlated with T1 relaxation time: r=−0.337 (p<0.05).ConclusionsBased on our image comparison, IVIM DWI MRI might be better than T1 mapping, and IVIM-derived f values might be a valuable index for characterization of HAE.

Nondestructive three‐dimensional (3D) micromorphological imaging technique is essential for hepatic alveolar echinococcosis (HAE) disease to determine its damage level and early diagnosis, assess relative drug therapy and optimize treatment strategies. However, the existing morphological researches of HAE mainly depend on the conventional CT, MRI, or ultrasound in hospitals, unfortunately confronting with the common limit of imaging resolution and sensitivity, especially for tiny or early HAE lesions. Now we presented a phase‐retrieval‐based synchrotron X‐ray phase computed tomography (PR‐XPCT) with striking contrast‐to‐noise ratio and high‐density resolution to visualize the HAE nondestructive 3D structures and quantitatively segment different pathological characteristics of HAE lesions without staining process at the micrometer scale. Our experimental results of the HAE rat models at early and developed pathological stages and albendazole liposome (L‐ABZ) therapeutic feeding models successfully exhibited the different HAE pathological 3D morphological and microstructural characteristics with excellent contrast and high resolution, demonstrating its availability and superiority. Moreover, we achieved the quantitative statistics and analysis of the pathological changes of HAE lesions at different stages and L‐ABZ therapeutic evaluation, helpful to understanding the development and drug treatment of HAE disease. The PR‐XPCT‐based quantitative segmentation and characterization has a great potential in detection and analysis of soft tissue pathological changes, such as different tumors.

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