Introduction to Diffusion MRI
- GE Global Research Center Garching, Munich, Germany
Marion I. Menzel
GE Global Research, Munich, Germany
Diffusion weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DWI) is a very powerful technique to investigate microstructural properties of samples (biological tissue, porous media). Diffusion MRI allows inferring information derived from the dispersion of water molecules, diffusing within the sample. Observing this diffusional process in space (i.e. in 3 dimensions) and time (i.e. over the course of a few milliseconds) allows obtaining indirect insight into the sample's macro- and microstructure. Nowadays, diffusion MRI has evolved into a versatile tool to study samples, with a wide spectrum of applications ranging from medical imaging to material science. Within this session, an introduction to the concepts of diffusion MRI, pulse sequence acquisition schemes, data processing and signal modelling will be given.