Impact of truncating diffusion MRI scans on diffusional kurtosis imaging

Diffusional kurtosis imaging (DKI) extends diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), characterizing non-Gaussian diffusion effects but requires longer acquisition times. To ensure the robustness of DKI parameters, data acquisition ordering should be optimized allowing for scan interruptions or shortening. Three methodologies were used to examine how reduced diffusion MRI scans impact DKI histogram-metrics: 1) the electrostatic repulsion model (Opt_EEM); 2) spherical codes (Opt_SC); 3) random (Random_TRUNC).

Pre-acquired diffusion multi-shell data from 14 female healthy volunteers (29±5 years) were used to generate reordered data. For each strategy, subsets containing different amounts of the full dataset were generated. The subsampling effects were assessed on histogram-based DKI metrics from tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) skeletonized maps. To evaluate each subsampling method on simulated data at different SNRs and the influence of subsampling on in vivo data, we used a 3-way and 2-way repeated measures ANOVA, respectively.

Simulations showed that subsampling had different effects depending on DKI parameter, with fractional anisotropy the most stable (up to 5% error) and radial kurtosis the least stable (up to 26% error). Random_TRUNC performed the worst while the others showed comparable results. Furthermore, the impact of subsampling varied across distinct histogram characteristics, the peak value the least affected (Opt_EEM: up to 5% error; Opt_SC: up to 7% error) and peak height (Opt_EEM: up to 8% error; Opt_SC: up to 11% error) the most affected.

The impact of truncation depends on specific histogram-based DKI metrics. The use of a strategy for optimizing the acquisition order is advisable to improve DKI robustness to exam interruptions.