• Maryam Seif, Laila Yasmin Mani, Huanxiang Lu, Chris Boesch, Mauricio Reyes, Bruno Vogt, and Peter Vermathen.
• Department of Clinical Research and Radiology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
• J Magn Reson Imaging. 2016 Aug 1; 44 (2): 327-34.

PurposeTo investigate if image registration of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) allows omitting respiratory triggering for both transplanted and native kidneysMaterials And MethodsNine kidney transplant recipients and eight healthy volunteers underwent renal DTI on a 3T scanner with and without respiratory triggering. DTI images were registered using a multimodal nonrigid registration algorithm. Apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), the contribution of perfusion (FP ), and the fractional anisotropy (FA) were determined. Relative root mean square errors (RMSE) of the fitting and the standard deviations of the derived parameters within the regions of interest (SDROI ) were evaluated as quality criteria.ResultsRegistration significantly reduced RMSE in all DTI-derived parameters of triggered and nontriggered measurements in cortex and medulla of both transplanted and native kidneys (P < 0.05 for all). In addition, SDROI values were lower with registration for all 16 parameters in transplanted kidneys (14 of 16 SDROI values were significantly reduced, P < 0.04) and for 15 of 16 parameters in native kidneys (9 of 16 SDROI values were significantly reduced, P < 0.05). Comparing triggered versus nontriggered DTI in transplanted kidneys revealed no significant difference for RMSE (P > 0.14) and for SDROI (P > 0.13) of all parameters. In contrast, in native kidneys relative RMSE from triggered scans were significantly lower than those from nontriggered scans (P < 0.02), while SDROI was slightly higher in triggered compared to nontriggered measurements in 15 out of 16 comparisons (significantly for two, P < 0.05).ConclusionRegistration improves the quality of DTI in native and transplanted kidneys. Diffusion parameters in renal allografts can be measured without respiratory triggering. In native kidneys, respiratory triggering appears advantageous. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2016;44:327-334.© 2016 The Authors, Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.

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