Novel approaches in Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy of the prostate: Improved clinical molecular imaging and first investigation of molecular diffusion

While standard prostate MRI provides detailed images of anatomy and function, MR spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) offers additional information about the chemical makeup of prostate tissue. This information can help distinguish healthy tissue from cancer and assess how aggressive a tumor may be.

However, MRSI is technically complex, time-consuming, and often depends on expert interpretation, which limits its routine use in clinical practice. This thesis focuses on overcoming these challenges by developing more robust, efficient, and automated methods for prostate MRSI.

The work introduces improved scanning, processing, and analysis techniques that increase data quality, reduce scan time, and support more objective interpretation. In addition, advanced diffusion-based spectroscopic methods are explored to gain unique insights into the microstructure of prostate tissue that cannot be obtained with conventional MRI.

Overall, this research aims to make prostate MRSI more reliable and clinically useful, supporting better diagnosis, improved risk assessment, and more informed management of prostate cancer.