AJDRAJNR - American Journal of Neuroradiology

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American Journal of Neuroradiology 2008;29:632.

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American Journal of Neuroradiology
DOI 10.3174/ajnr.A1051

PHYSICS REVIEW

Diffusion Tensor MR Imaging and Fiber Tractography: Theoretic Underpinnings

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

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.






Copyright © 2009 by the American Society of Neuroradiology. Print ISSN: 0195-6108 Online ISSN: 1936-959X