Review Article
High b-value q-space analyzed diffusion-weighted MRS and MRI in neuronal tissues – a technical review
Article first published online: 5 DEC 2002
DOI: 10.1002/nbm.778
Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Issue
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NMR in Biomedicine
Special Issue: Diffusion tensor imaging and axonal mapping - state of the art
Volume 15, Issue 7-8, pages 516–542, November - December 2002
Additional Information
How to Cite
Cohen, Y. and Assaf, Y. (2002), High b-value q-space analyzed diffusion-weighted MRS and MRI in neuronal tissues – a technical review. NMR Biomed., 15: 516–542. doi: 10.1002/nbm.778
Publication History
- Issue published online: 5 DEC 2002
- Article first published online: 5 DEC 2002
- Manuscript Accepted: 10 FEB 2002
- Manuscript Revised: 25 DEC 2001
- Manuscript Received: 16 MAY 2001
Funded by
- United States–Israel Binational and Foundation 97-00346
- Abstract
- Article
- References
- Cited By
Keywords:
- diffusion MRI;
- high b-value DWI;
- q-space diffusion;
- white matter disorders;
- multiple sclerosis;
- MS;
- spinal cord trauma;
- neuronal degeneration;
- neuronal maturation
Abstract
This review deals with high b-value q-space diffusion-weighted MRI (DW-MRI) of neuronal tissues. It is well documented that at sufficiently high b-values (and high q-values) neuronal water signal decay in diffusion experiments is not mono-exponential. This implies the existence of more than one apparent diffusing component or evidence for restriction. The assignment of the different apparent diffusing components to real physical entities is not straightforward. However, the apparent slow diffusing component that was found to be restricted to a compartment of a few microns, if originating mainly from a specific pool and if assigned correctly, may potentially be used to obtain more specific MR images with regard to specific pathologies of the CNS. This review examines the utility of analyzing high b-value diffusion MRS and MRI data using the q-space approach introduced by Callaghan and by Cory and Garroway. This approach provides displacement probability maps that emphasize, at long diffusion times, the characteristics of the apparent slow diffusing component. Examples from excised spinal cord, where the experimental conditions for which the q-space analysis of MR diffusion data was developed can be met or approached will be presented. Then examples from human MS patients, where q-space requirement for the short gradient pulse is clearly violated, are presented. In the excised spinal cord studies, this approach was used to study spinal cord maturation and trauma, and was found to be more sensitive than other conventional methods in following spinal cord degeneration in an experimental model of vascular dementia (VaD). High b-value q-space DWI was also recently used to study healthy and MS diseased human brains. This approach was found to be very sensitive to the disease load in MS, compared with other conventional MRI methods, especially in the normal appearing white matter (NAWM) of MS brains. Finally, the potential diagnostic capacity embedded in high b-value q-space analyzed diffusion MR images is discussed. The potentials and caveats of this approach are outlined and experimental data are presented that show the effect of violating the short gradient pulse (SGP) approximation on the extracted parameters from the q-space analysis. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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- ADC
apparent diffusion coefficient
- CNS
central nervous system
- CSF
cerebral spinal fluid
- DW-MRS
diffusion weighted magnetic resonance spectroscopy
- DWI
diffusion-weighted imaging
- DTI
diffusion tensor imaging
- EAE
experimental allergic encephalomyelitis
- EAN
experimental allergic neuritis
- EM
electron microscopy
- EPI
echo planar imaging
- FA
fractional anisotropy
- FLAIR
fluid attenuated inversion recovery
- FT
Fourier transform
- MR
magnetic resonance
- MRI
magnetic resonance imaging
- MRS
magnetic resonance spectroscopy
- MS
multiple sclerosis
- MT
magnetization transfer
- NAWM
normal appearing white matter
- PNS
peripheral nervous system
- ROI
region of interest
- SD
standard deviation
- SNR
signal to noise ratio
- SGP
short gradient pulse
- SP-SHR
stroke-prone spontaneous hypertensive rat
- TE
time to echo

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