Gradient nonlinearity correction in liver DWI using motion-compensated diffusion encoding waveforms

OBJECTIVE : To experimentally characterize the effectiveness of a gradient nonlinearity correction method in removing ADC bias for different motion-compensated diffusion encoding waveforms. METHODS: The diffusion encoding waveforms used were the standard monopolar Stejskal–Tanner pulsed gradient spin echo (pgse) waveform, the symmetric bipolar velocity-compensated waveform (sym-vc), the asymmetric bipolar velocity-compensated waveform (asym-vc) and the asymmetric bipolar partial velocity-compensated waveform (asym-pvc). The effectiveness of the gradient nonlinearity correction method using the spherical harmonic expansion of the gradient coil field was tested with the aforementioned waveforms in a phantom and in four healthy subjects. RESULTS: The gradient nonlinearity correction method reduced the ADC bias in the phantom experiments for all used waveforms. The range of the ADC values over a distance of ± 67.2 mm from isocenter reduced from 1.29 × 10(–4) to 0.32 × 10(–4) mm(2)/s for pgse, 1.04 × 10(–4) to 0.22 × 10(–4) mm(2)/s for sym-vc, 1.22 × 10(–4) to 0.24 × 10(–4) mm(2)/s for asym-vc and 1.07 × 10(–4) to 0.11 × 10(–4) mm(2)/s for asym-pvc. The in vivo results showed that ADC overestimation due to motion or bright vessels can be increased even further by the gradient nonlinearity correction. CONCLUSION: The investigated gradient nonlinearity correction method can be used effectively with various motion-compensated diffusion encoding waveforms. In coronal liver DWI, ADC errors caused by motion and residual vessel signal can be increased even further by the gradient nonlinearity correction. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10334-021-00981-6.