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PURPOSE: To prospectively evaluate feasibility of diffusion-weighted (DW) magnetic resonance (MR) imaging in assessment of renal function in healthy volunteers and patients with various renal abnormalities and to prospectively evaluate reproducibility of DW MR imaging in volunteers.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Study protocol was approved by local ethics committee; informed consent was obtained. Eighteen healthy volunteers and 15 patients underwent transverse fat-saturated echo-planar DW MR imaging of the kidneys during normal breathing. Freehand regions of interest were delineated in the cortex and medulla of the kidneys. The following apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values were calculated: ADC of all b values (ADC_avg), ADC of low b values (b = 0, 50, 100 sec/mm²; ADC_low), and ADC of high b values (b = 500, 750, 1000 sec/mm²; ADC_high). These values were calculated to differentiate …