POSSIBILITIES OF DIFFUSION-WEIGHTED MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING IN THE DIAGNOSIS OF SPINAL CORD TUMORS

Abstract

The review analyzes the data of modern literature on main methods for the diagnosis of spinal cord tumors. It reflects the possibilities of using diffusion-weighted MRI (DW-MRI), by constructing the maps of measured diffusion coefficients (ICD) and calculating the mean value of ICD in this pathology. The investigators have collected data on differential diagnosis and the assessment of the degree of malignancy of certain tumor groups on the basis of DW-MRI data. DW-MRI as compared with the data of standard T1- and T2-weighted images can serve as an additional method to diagnose spinal cord neoplasms of different nature at the preoperative stage for the determination of the volume of subsequent surgery.

Keywords

• spinal cord tumors
• diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging
• apparent diffusion coefficient
• apparent diffusion coefficient map
• review