OBJECTIVES To qualitatively and quantitatively compare the image quality between single-shot echo-planar (SS-EPI) and multi-shot echo-planar (IMS-EPI) diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) in female pelvis METHODS: This was a prospective study involving 80 females who underwent 3.0T pelvic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). SS-EPI and IMS-EPI DWI were acquired with 3 b values (0, 400, 800 s/mm2). Two independent reviewers assessed the overall image quality, artifacts, sharpness, and lesion conspicuity based on a 5-point Likert scale. Regions of interest (ROI) were placed on the endometrium and the gluteus muscles to quantify the signal intensities and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC). Signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), and geometric distortion were quantified on both sequences. Inter-rater agreement was assessed using κ statistics and Kendall test. Qualitative scores were compared using Wilcoxon signed-rank test and quantitative parameters were compared with paired t test and Bland-Altman analysis. RESULTS IMS-EPI demonstrated better image quality than SS-EPI for all aspects evaluated (SS-EPI vs. IMS-EPI: overall quality 3.04 vs. 4.17, artifacts 3.09 vs. 3.99, sharpness 2.40 vs. 4.32, lesion conspicuity 3.20 vs. 4.25; p < 0.001). Good agreement and correlation were observed between two reviewers (SS-EPI κ 0.699, r 0.742; IMS-EPI κ 0.702, r 0.789). IMS-EPI showed lower geometric distortion, SNR, and CNR than SS-EPI (p < 0.050). There was no significant difference in the mean ADC between the two sequences. CONCLUSION IMS-EPI showed better image quality with lower geometric distortion without affecting the quantification of ADC, though the SNR and CNR decreased due to post-processing limitations. KEY POINTS • IMS-EPI showed better image quality than SS-EPI. • IMS-EPI showed lower geometric distortion without affecting ADC compared with SS-EPI. • The SNR and CNR of IMS-EPI decreased due to post-processing limitations.

中文翻译：

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女性骨盆单次回波平面和交错多次回波平面扩散加权成像图像质量的定性和定量比较。

目的 定性和定量比较女性骨盆单次回波平面 (SS-EPI) 和多次回波平面 (IMS-EPI) 扩散加权成像 (DWI) 的图像质量 方法：这是一项前瞻性研究涉及 80 名接受 3.0T 骨盆磁共振成像 (MRI) 的女性。使用 3 b 值（0、400、800 s/mm2）获取 SS-EPI 和 IMS-EPI DWI。两位独立评审员根据 5 分李克特量表评估整体图像质量、伪影、清晰度和病变显着性。感兴趣区域 (ROI) 被放置在子宫内膜和臀肌上，以量化信号强度和表观扩散系数 (ADC)。对两个序列的信噪比 (SNR)、对比度噪声比 (CNR) 和几何失真进行了量化。使用 κ 统计和 Kendall 检验评估评估者间的一致性。使用 Wilcoxon 符号秩检验比较定性分数，并使用配对 t 检验和 Bland-Altman 分析比较定量参数。结果 IMS-EPI 在所有评估方面都表现出比 SS-EPI 更好的图像质量（SS-EPI 与 IMS-EPI：整体质量 3.04 与 4.17，伪影 3.09 与 3.99，清晰度 2.40 与 4.32，病变显着性 3.20 与4.25；p < 0.001）。两位评论者之间观察到良好的一致性和相关性（SS-EPI κ 0.699，r 0.742；IMS-EPI κ 0.702，r 0.789）。IMS-EPI 显示比 SS-EPI 更低的几何失真、SNR 和 CNR (p < 0.050)。两个序列之间的平均 ADC 没有显着差异。结论 IMS-EPI 在不影响 ADC 量化的情况下显示出更好的图像质量和更低的几何失真，尽管 SNR 和 CNR 由于后处理限制而降低。要点 • IMS-EPI 显示出比 SS-EPI 更好的图像质量。• 与SS-EPI 相比，IMS-EPI 在不影响ADC 的情况下表现出较低的几何失真。• 由于后处理限制，IMS-EPI 的SNR 和CNR 有所下降。