Objectives

Standardization is an important milestone in the validation of DWI-based parameters as imaging biomarkers for renal disease. Here, we propose technical recommendations on three variants of renal DWI, monoexponential DWI, IVIM and DTI, as well as associated MRI biomarkers (ADC, D, D*, f, FA and MD) to aid ongoing international efforts on methodological harmonization.

Materials and methods

Reported DWI biomarkers from 194 prior renal DWI studies were extracted and Pearson correlations between diffusion biomarkers and protocol parameters were computed. Based on the literature review, surveys were designed for the consensus building. Survey data were collected via Delphi consensus process on renal DWI preparation, acquisition, analysis, and reporting. Consensus was defined as ≥ 75% agreement.

Results

Correlations were observed between reported diffusion biomarkers and protocol parameters. Out of 87 survey questions, 57 achieved consensus resolution, while many of the remaining questions were resolved by preference (65–74% agreement). Summary of the literature and survey data as well as recommendations for the preparation, acquisition, processing and reporting of renal DWI were provided.

Discussion

The consensus-based technical recommendations for renal DWI aim to facilitate inter-site harmonization and increase clinical impact of the technique on a larger scale by setting a framework for acquisition protocols for future renal DWI studies. We anticipate an iterative process with continuous updating of the recommendations according to progress in the field.

中文翻译：

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基于共识的肾弥散加权MRI临床翻译技术建议

目标

标准化是验证基于DWI的参数作为肾脏疾病成像生物标志物的重要里程碑。在这里，我们提出关于肾脏DWI的三个变体，单指数DWI，IVIM和DTI以及相关的MRI生物标记物（ADC，D，D *，f，FA和MD）的技术建议，以帮助正在进行的方法国际协调。

材料和方法

从194个先前的肾脏D​​WI研究中提取报告的DWI生物标记，并计算扩散生物标记与方案参数之间的Pearson相关性。根据文献综述，为达成共识而设计了调查。通过Delphi共识过程收集有关肾脏DWI制备，采集，分析和报告的调查数据。共识定义为≥75％一致。

结果

在报道的扩散生物标志物和协议参数之间观察到相关性。在87个调查问题中，有57个问题达成了共识，而其余许多问题则通过优先解决（65-74％同意）。提供了文献和调查数据的摘要，以及有关肾脏DWI的制备，获取，加工和报告的建议。

讨论区

针对肾脏DWI的基于共识的技术建议旨在通过为将来的肾脏DWI研究建立采集协议的框架，促进站点间的协调并在更大范围内增加该技术的临床影响。我们期望根据该领域的进展，不断进行建议更新的迭代过程。