Advanced

AJNR - American Journal of Neuroradiology

Published ahead of print on March 13, 2008
doi: 10.3174/ajnr.A1051

This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: ajnr.A1051v1 29/4/632    most recent Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via CrossRef Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Mukherjee, P. Articles by Henry, R.G. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Mukherjee, P. Articles by Henry, R.G.

American Journal of Neuroradiology 29:632-641, April 2008
© 2008 American Society of Neuroradiology

Physics Review

Diffusion Tensor MR Imaging and Fiber Tractography: Theoretic Underpinnings

P. Mukherjee^a, J.I. Berman^a, S.W. Chung^a, C.P. Hess^a and R.G. Henry^a

^a From the Department of Radiology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, Calif

Please address correspondence to Pratik Mukherjee, MD, PhD, Department of Radiology, Box 0628, University of California, San Francisco, 505 Parnassus Ave, L-358, San Francisco, CA 94143-0628; e-mail: pratik{at}radiology.ucsf.edu

SUMMARY: In this article, the underlying theory of clinical diffusion MR imaging, including diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and fiber tractography, is reviewed. First, a brief explanation of the basic physics of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) mapping is provided. This is followed by an overview of the additional information that can be derived from the diffusion tensor, including diffusion anisotropy, color-encoded fiber orientation maps, and 3D fiber tractography. This article provides the requisite background for the second article in this 2-part review to appear next month, which covers the major technical factors that affect image quality in diffusion MR imaging, including the acquisition sequence, magnet field strength, gradient amplitude and slew rate, and multichannel radio-frequency coils and parallel imaging. The emphasis is on optimizing these factors for state-of-the-art DWI and DTI based on the best available evidence in the literature.