Purpose or Case Report: Diffusion Weighted Imaging (DWI) of the spine is used to identify and characterize the spinal cord, and in particular diagnose drop metastases whose subtle appearance may cause them to be missed on conventional imaging. It has also proved useful for characterization of spinal cord lesions. Proper positioning and technique by the technologist are crucial in obtaining images suitable for an accurate assessment of disease.
Methods & Materials: Overview of diagnostic requirements were communicated by attending Neuro Radiologists to our MRI Physicist. With the development of readout-segmented echo planar imaging (RESOLVE), which affords minimization of susceptibility artifacts while allowing improved spatial resolution, imaging techniques were developed and through trial and error, the technologist's role was defined as requirements for scanning guidelines were established for optimization.

Results: DWI imaging of the spine at both 1.5T and 3T field strengths is found to hold significant diagnostic value when images are obtained correctly. The quality of imaging is found to rely heavily on the ability of the technologist to optimize the default parameters to match the individual patient, particularly in pediatrics where there is a large variation in the size of the patient. Only then can the techniques developed as a result of the ongoing collaboration of the Physicist, MRI Technologists and the Neuro Radiologists be fully utilized..
Conclusions: Feedback from Neurologists, Neuro surgeons and Oncologists have been overwhelmingly positive. The diagnostic usefulness of DWI spine imaging is confirmed, accepted and encouraged by our providers. Quality improvement initiatives continue and the use of RESOLVE DWI in other regions of the body are also been evaluated.