Presentation of microstructural diffusion components by color schemes in abdominal organs

Abstract

PurposeDevelopment of a color scheme representation to facilitate the interpretation of tri‐exponential DWI data from abdominal organs, where multi‐exponential behavior is more pronounced.MethodsMulti‐exponential analysis of DWI data provides information about the microstructure of the tissue under study. The tri‐exponential signal analysis generates numerous parameter images that are difficult to analyze individually. Summarized color images can simplify at‐a‐glance analysis. A color scheme was developed in which the slow, intermediate, and fast diffusion components were each assigned to a different red, green, and blue color channel. To improve the appearance of the image, histogram equalization, gamma correction, and white balance were used, and the processing parameters were adjusted. Examples of the resulting color maps of the diffusion fractions of healthy and pathological kidney and prostate are shown.ResultsThe color maps obtained by the presented method show the merged information of the slow, intermediate, and fast diffusion components in a single view. A differentiation of the different fractions becomes clearly visible. Fast diffusion regimes, such as in the renal hilus, can be clearly distinguished from slow fractions, such as in dense tumor tissue.ConclusionCombining the diffusion information from tri‐exponential DWI analysis into a single color image allows for simplified interpretation of the diffusion fractions. In the future, such color images may provide additional information about the microstructural nature of the tissue under study.