Diffusion-weighted MR spectroscopy of the prostate

Diffusion-weighted Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (DW-MRS) is ideally suited to explore complex microstructure with metabolites selectively distributed in different subspaces. So far this technique was applied in brain and muscle only. In this work, we explored DW-MRS for the first time in the prostate, an organ, with potentially more motion problems. Thus, dedicated acquisition and post-processing techniques were used including the measurement of water next to that of metabolites for corrections. ADC values of citrate, total choline, total creatine and spermine were estimated and evaluated according to the compartmental structure of the prostate indicating hindered metabolite diffusion in the luminal space.