Diffusion-Weighted MR Imaging of Normal Cervical Cord: A Preliminary Study

Objective To discuss the feasibility, technical points and clinical significance of diffusion weighted MR imaging of normal cervical cord. Materials and Methods MRI scanning (1.5T Philips Gyroscan Intera MR unit) of the cervical cord was performed in 5 healthy volunteers. Using echo planar imaging (EPI) sequences with different parameters, the images of cervical spinal cord were obtained. ADC values and relative ADC values (RA) were calculated on sagittal orientated images.Results The navigator guided, multi shot echo planar technique with 5mm slice thickness produced good diffusion weighted images. Due to the diffused anisotropy of spinal cord, ADC values with the diffusion gradients parallel to the white matter tract were markedly high. On sagittal orientated images of the cervical spinal cord, the mean ADC value was 1.06±0.13×10 -3 mm 2/s (ranged from 0.86 to 1.18×10 -3 mm 2/s) and relative ADC (RA) was 3.12±0.48 (ranged from 2.56 to 5.68).Conclusion Diffusion weighted images of the spinal cord can be obtained with 1.5T MR scanner and are of help for studying the mechanism of the spinal cord lesions as well as for making clinical diagnosis.