Rotating single-shot acquisition (RoSA) with composite reconstruction for fast high-resolution diffusion imaging.

PURPOSE: To accelerate high-resolution diffusion imaging, rotating single-shot acquisition (RoSA) with composite reconstruction is proposed. Acceleration was achieved by acquiring only one rotating single-shot blade per diffusion direction, and high-resolution diffusion-weighted (DW) images were reconstructed by using similarities of neighboring DW images. A parallel imaging technique was implemented in RoSA to further improve the image quality and acquisition speed. RoSA performance was evaluated by simulation and human experiments. METHODS: A brain tensor phantom was developed to determine an optimal blade size and rotation angle by considering similarity in DW images, off-resonance effects, and k-space coverage. With the optimal parameters, RoSA MR pulse sequence and reconstruction algorithm were developed to acquire human brain data. For comparison, multishot echo planar imaging (EPI) and conventional single-shot EPI sequences were performed with matched scan time, resolution, field of view, and diffusion directions. RESULTS: The simulation indicated an optimal blade size of 48 × 256 and a 30 ° rotation angle. For 1 × 1 mm2 in-plane resolution, RoSA was 12 times faster than the multishot acquisition with comparable image quality. With the same acquisition time as SS-EPI, RoSA provided superior image quality and minimum geometric distortion. CONCLUSION: RoSA offers fast, high-quality, high-resolution diffusion images. The composite image reconstruction is model-free and compatible with various diffusion computation approaches including parametric and nonparametric analyses. Magn Reson Med 79:264-275, 2018. © 2017 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.

Age effects and sex differences in human brain white matter of young to middle-aged adults: A DTI, NODDI, and q-space study.

Microstructural changes in human brain white matter of young to middle-aged adults were studied using advanced diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging (dMRI). Multiple shell diffusion-weighted data were acquired using the Hybrid Diffusion Imaging (HYDI). The HYDI method is extremely versatile and data were analyzed using Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI), Neurite Orientation Dispersion and Density Imaging (NODDI), and q-space imaging approaches. Twenty-four females and 23 males between 18 and 55years of age were included in this study. The impact of age and sex on diffusion metrics were tested using least squares linear regressions in 48 white matter regions of interest (ROIs) across the whole brain and adjusted for multiple comparisons across ROIs. In this study, white matter projections to either the hippocampus or the cerebral cortices were the brain regions most sensitive to aging. Specifically, in this young to middle-aged cohort, aging effects were associated with more dispersion of white matter fibers while the tissue restriction and intra-axonal volume fraction remained relatively stable. The fiber dispersion index of NODDI exhibited the most pronounced sensitivity to aging. In addition, changes of the DTI indices in this aging cohort were correlated mostly with the fiber dispersion index rather than the intracellular volume fraction of NODDI or the q-space measurements. While men and women did not differ in the aging rate, men tend to have higher intra-axonal volume fraction than women. This study demonstrates that advanced dMRI using a HYDI acquisition and compartmental modeling of NODDI can elucidate microstructural alterations that are sensitive to age and sex. Finally, this study provides insight into the relationships between DTI diffusion metrics and advanced diffusion metrics of NODDI model and q-space imaging.

Detecting white matter alterations in multiple sclerosis using advanced diffusion magnetic resonance imaging.

Multiple sclerosis is a neurodegenerative and inflammatory disease, a hallmark of which is demyelinating lesions in the white matter. We hypothesized that alterations in white matter microstructures can be non-invasively characterized by advanced diffusion magnetic resonance imaging. Seven diffusion metrics were extracted from hybrid diffusion imaging acquisitions via classic diffusion tensor imaging, neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging, and q-space imaging. We investigated the sensitivity of the diffusion metrics in 36 sets of regions of interest in the brain white matter of six female patients (age 52.8 ± 4.3 years) with multiple sclerosis. Each region of interest set included a conventional T2-defined lesion, a matched perilesion area, and normal-appearing white matter. Six patients with multiple sclerosis (n = 5) or clinically isolated syndrome (n = 1) at a mild to moderate disability level were recruited. The patients exhibited microstructural alterations from normal-appearing white matter transitioning to perilesion areas and lesions, consistent with decreased tissue restriction, decreased axonal density, and increased classic diffusion tensor imaging diffusivity. The findings suggest that diffusion compartment modeling and q-space analysis appeared to be sensitive for detecting subtle microstructural alterations between perilesion areas and normal-appearing white matter.

Characterization of Water Self-Diffusion in Human Stratum Corneum.

The stratum corneum (SC) is the outermost layer of human skin and primary barrier to water loss and chemical exposure. It consists of keratin-filled corneocytes of large aspect ratio surrounded by a thin matrix of highly organized lipophilic molecules. In the presence of water, the corneocytes swell and permeability for many chemicals increases. The role of hydration and SC structure on water self-diffusion was investigated using the pulsed-gradient stimulated echo nuclear magnetic resonance technique. Proton (1H) self-diffusion, associated with water inside the corneocytes, was determined in human SC as a function of hydration, with and without lipid extraction, at 20°C to 40°C. SC layers were oriented either parallel or perpendicular to the field-gradient direction. Self-diffusion in the direction parallel to the long dimension of the corneocytes is unaffected by lipid extraction and consistent with a free-volume diffusion model. The effect of temperature corresponds with the activation energy of water in wool. Self-diffusion perpendicular to the long dimension of the corneocytes was less dependent on hydration and smaller than in the parallel direction, except at low hydration, when diffusion is insensitive to orientation. Corneocyte diffusion predicted by 2 microscopic SC models in common use are compared with our results.

Hybrid Diffusion Imaging in Mild Traumatic Brain Injury.

Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is an important public health problem. Although conventional medical imaging techniques can detect moderate-to-severe injuries, they are relatively insensitive to mTBI. In this study, we used hybrid diffusion imaging (HYDI) to detect white matter alterations in 19 patients with mTBI and 23 other trauma control patients. Within 15 days (standard deviation = 10) of brain injury, all subjects underwent magnetic resonance HYDI and were assessed with a battery of neuropsychological tests of sustained attention, memory, and executive function. Tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) was used for voxel-wise statistical analyses within the white matter skeleton to study between-group differences in diffusion metrics, within-group correlations between diffusion metrics and clinical outcomes, and between-group interaction effects. The advanced diffusion imaging techniques, including neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI) and q-space analyses, appeared to be more sensitive then classic diffusion tensor imaging. Only NODDI-derived intra-axonal volume fraction (Vic) demonstrated significant group differences (i.e., 5-9% lower in the injured brain). Within the mTBI group, Vic and a q-space measure, P0, correlated with 6 of 10 neuropsychological tests, including measures of attention, memory, and executive function. In addition, the direction of correlations differed significantly between groups (R2 > 0.71 and pinteration < 0.03). Specifically, in the control group, higher Vic and P0 were associated with better performances on clinical assessments, whereas in the mTBI group, higher Vic and P0 were associated with worse performances with correlation coefficients >0.83. In summary, the NODDI-derived axonal density index and q-space measure for tissue restriction demonstrated superior sensitivity to white matter changes shortly after mTBI. These techniques hold promise as a neuroimaging biomarker for mTBI.

Data of NODDI diffusion metrics in the brain and computer simulation of hybrid diffusion imaging (HYDI) acquisition scheme.

This article provides NODDI diffusion metrics in the brains of 52 healthy participants and computer simulation data to support compatibility of hybrid diffusion imaging (HYDI), "Hybrid diffusion imaging"[1] acquisition scheme in fitting neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI) model, "NODDI: practical in vivo neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging of the human brain"[2]. HYDI is an extremely versatile diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) technique that enables various analyzes methods using a single diffusion dataset. One of the diffusion data analysis methods is the NODDI computation, which models the brain tissue with three compartments: fast isotropic diffusion (e.g., cerebrospinal fluid), anisotropic hindered diffusion (e.g., extracellular space), and anisotropic restricted diffusion (e.g., intracellular space). The NODDI model produces microstructural metrics in the developing brain, aging brain or human brain with neurologic disorders. The first dataset provided here are the means and standard deviations of NODDI metrics in 48 white matter region-of-interest (ROI) averaging across 52 healthy participants. The second dataset provided here is the computer simulation with initial conditions guided by the first dataset as inputs and gold standard for model fitting. The computer simulation data provide a direct comparison of NODDI indices computed from the HYDI acquisition [1] to the NODDI indices computed from the originally proposed acquisition [2]. These data are related to the accompanying research article "Age Effects and Sex Differences in Human Brain White Matter of Young to Middle-Aged Adults: A DTI, NODDI, and q-Space Study" [3].

Characterization of Water and a Model Lipophilic Compound in Human Stratum Corneum by NMR Spectroscopy and Equilibrium Sorption.

The stratum corneum (SC) is the outermost skin layer in humans and other mammals and the primary barrier to water loss and environmental exposure to chemicals and microorganisms. It consists of flattened, keratin-filled corneocytes surrounded by well-organized lipid layers. Human SC at varying degrees of hydration with and without addition of a model lipophilic compound, 2-(trifluoromethyl) benzonitrile (TFMB), was studied using proton (1H) and fluorine (19F) nuclear magnetic resonance techniques. Proton spectral analyses revealed that water mainly occupies the corneocytes in agreement with prior studies. Observations from 19F spectral and spin-lattice relaxation time (T1) analyses showed that TFMB is primarily present in the lipids with small amounts in water, which is located within the corneocytes. This is consistent with TFMB sorption, which was measured in SC with and without lipid extraction. The presence of TFMB within the corneocytes supports the hypothesis that transcellular diffusion of a lipophilic compound like TFMB may contribute to SC permeation.