ABSTRACT
A simple metric for the shared diffusion anisotropy between two voxels is proposed. The metric has large values when the diffusion is highly anisotropic in both voxels and oriented in the same direction. This metric can be used in several ways, three of which are illustrated in this article. First, the metric can be used to rapidly calculate a fractional anisotropy measure using an arbitrary number of measured diffusion values. Second, a simple way to exploit the metric for filtering DWI data with neighboring voxels with similar diffusion characteristics is shown. Third, the metric can be used to create color images that reflect tract orientation.
Subject(s)
Algorithms , Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging/methods , Image Processing, Computer-Assisted/methods , Anisotropy , Brain/anatomy & histology , HumansABSTRACT
A method for obtaining diffusion-weighted images that are free from the artifacts associated with echo-planar acquisitions, such as signal pile-up and geometric warping, is introduced. It uses an ungated, multishot fast spin-echo (FSE) acquisition that is self-navigated. The phase of the refocusing pulses is alternated to minimize non-Carr-Purcell-Meiboom-Gill (CPMG) artifacts. Several reconstruction methods are combined to make this method robust against motion artifacts. Examples are shown of clinical diffusion-weighted imaging and high-resolution diffusion tensor imaging.