Apparent diffusion coefficients (ADCs) are sometimes overestimated when they are measured in the brain near the basal ganglia because water molecules in brain tissues fluctuate with blood volume loading in the cranium. We determined detailed ADC changes during the cardiac cycle to evaluate the appropriate cardiac phases for accurate measurement of ADC values. Using 1.5 T MRI, we performed ECG-triggered single-shot EPI to obtain ADC maps in each cardiac phase using techniques minimizing the bulk motion effect. The coefficient of variation (CV) of the ADC values during the cardiac cycle was over 50% near the basal ganglia. Moreover, the cardiac phase of the peak ADC value during the cardiac cycle was from 10 to 40% cardiac phases that follow systole. However, the CV of the ADC values of whole cardiac phases was higher than those with phases over 50% of the cardiac cycle near the basal ganglia because the effect of water fluctuation was almost eliminated. Therefore, accurate measurement of ADC values should be obtained from ADC maps of phases over 50% of the cardiac cycle.
