Assessment of the Correlation between Apparent Diffusion Coefficient and Intervertebral Disk Degeneration Using 3 Tesla MRI

The objective is to use DW-MR imaging using 3 Tesla MRI to assess the correlation between the mean ADC with degenerative disk disease (DDD). We recruited 34 subjects and used DWI-MR to image lumbar intervertebral disks. We acquired a T2W scan and DWIs. The disks were graded for DDD. Assessment of correlation between mean ADC was made. 170 disks were evaluated. The observed sample correlation between mean ADC and disk degeneration was r = 0.65 [0.55-0.73]. The observed sample correlation between mid-sagittal ADC and disk degeneration was r = 0.61 [0.51-0.70]. The differences between mean ADC of each grade were significant, except between grades 4 and 5. There is a correlation of 0.65 between the mean ADC and disk degeneration. This correlation is not strong enough to use the ADC to determine DDD in clinical settings. There was no evident difference in ADC between the studied anatomic lumbar levels.