Table 1.

Acquisition protocols: technical parameters.

• T2-weighted imaging (axial, sagittal, coronal planes)

− Field-of-view: 12–20 cm to encompass the entire prostate gland and seminal vesicles

− 3 mm section thickness, 0 mm gap

− In-plane resolution: ≤0.7 mm (phase) × ≤0.4 mm (frequency)

• Diffusion-weighted imaging (axial plane)

− Free-breathing spin echo EPI sequence combined with spectral fat saturation is recommended

− Section thickness to match T2WI

− TE: ≤90 ms; TR: >3000 msI

− Field-of-view: 16–22 cm

− In plane dimension: ≤2.5 mm phase and frequency

− At least two b-values should be acquired in three orthogonal directions. If only two b-values are utilised, these should be 50 −100 s/mm2 (low) and 800–1000 s/mm2 (high)

− “High b-value” acquisition with b=1400–2000 s/mm2, depending on achievable quality of SNR

− ADC map calculation: low b-value should be ≥50 s/mm2, high b-value should be >800 s/mm2, up to a maximum of 1000 s/mm2

• Dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (axial plane)

− Fat suppression and/or subtraction is recommended

− 2D or 3D T1 gradient echo (GRE) sequence; 3D is preferred

− Section thickness to match T2WI

− Injection rate: 2–3 ml/s

− TR/TE: <100 ms/<5 ms

− In-plane dimension: ≤2 mm × ≤2 mm

− Temporal resolution: ≤10s(<7s is preferred)

− Pharmacodynamic analysis does not have to be performed

EPI, echo planar imaging; ADC, apparent diffusion coefficient; 2D, two-dimensional; 3D, three-dimensional; TR, repetition time, TE, echo time; T2WI, T2-weighted imaging; GRE, gradient echo.