Spatial restriction within intracranial epidermoid cysts observed using short diffusion-time diffusion-weighted imaging

Abstract

We report two cases of pathologically proven intracranial epidermoid cysts. Both cases were scanned with diffusion-weighted imaging using pulsed gradient spin-echo (PGSE) and oscillating gradient spin-echo (OGSE; 50 Hz) prototype sequences with diffusion times of 47.3 ms and 8.5 ms, respectively. The apparent diffusion coefficient measured by OGSE was higher than that measured by PGSE, indicating the spatial restriction of water diffusion in the laminated keratin layers within the cyst as demonstrated by histopathology.