Human Prostate MRI at ultra-high-performance gradient of 200 mT/m and 500 T/m/s

Diffusion MRI has been shown to yield imaging biomarkers for prostate cancer identification and grading. However, the image quality remains poor due to the limited gradient performance of clinical whole-body MRI systems. We assessed the technical feasibility of human prostate MRI in a 42-cm inner-diameter gradient coil operating at maximum gradient amplitude of 200 mT/m and slew rate of 500 T/m/s. No sensation of peripheral nerve stimulation was reported. Significantly reduced image distortion and higher image signal-to-noise ratios were achieved in diffusion MRI due to shorter echo times and shorter echo spacings, compared to diffusion MRI at whole-body MRI systems.