In this article we develop a new method to segment Q-Ball imaging (QBI) data. We first estimate the orientation distribution function (ODF) using a fast and robust spherical harmonic (SH) method. Then, we use a region-based statistical surface evolution on this image of ODFs to efficiently find coherent white matter fiber bundles. We show that our method is appropriate to propagate through regi...

A Wideband diffusion tensor imaging is successfully performed to acquire two images in one single excitation. 2-slices are excited/acquired simultaneously using 2D Wideband modified pulse-gradient spin-echo sequence. The calculated diffusion tensors of the grapefruit are clearly displayed on the eigenvector map, and proven to be correct. The result of this study directly indicates a reduction o...

Introduction To study the cortical/subcortical diffusivity quantified by the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) in neurological and neurodegenerative diseases, brain tissue segmentation methods for diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging (DT-MRI) data have been proposed, which utilize registration between segmented structural MRI and DT-MRI [1-3]. Recently, another method has been propose...

We present a novel structure tensor for matrix-valued images. It allows for user defined parameters that add flexibility to a number of image processing algorithms for the segmentation and smoothing of tensor fields. We provide a thorough theoretical derivation of the new structure tensor, including a proof of the equivalence of its unweighted version to the existing structure tensor from the l...

The diffusion tensor is currently the accepted model of diffusion in biological tissues. The measured diffusion behavior may be more complex when two or more distinct tissues with different diffusion tensors occupy the same voxel. In this study, a partial volume model of MRI signal behavior for two diffusion-tensor compartments is presented. Simulations using this model demonstrate that the con...

In this paper, a recently developed fiber tracking algorithm to be used with diffusion tensor (DT) fields acquired via magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is improved and applied to real brain DT-MR images. The method performs satisfactorily in regions where branching and crossing fibers exist and offers the capability of reporting a probability value for the computed tracts. This certainty figure...

Least Squares (LS) and its weighted version are standard techniques to estimate the Diffusion Tensor (DT) from Diffusion Weighted Images (DWI). They require to linearize the problem by computing the logarithm of the DWI. For the single-coil Rician noise model it has been shown that this model does not introduce a significant bias, but for multiple array coils and parallel imaging, the noise can...

Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DW-MRI) is a recognized tool for early detection of infarction of the human brain. DW-MRI uses the signal loss associated with the random thermal motion of water molecules in the presence of magnetic field gradients to derive parameters that reflect the translational mobility of the water molecules in tissues. If diffusion-weighted images with diff...

Purpose: The arcuate fasciculus (AF) is a crucial language pathway in the human brain connecting Broca's area in the frontal lobe to Wernicke's area in the temporal lobe. Using tractography to analyze the AF, investigators have identified anomalies in a variety of diseases. Currently, white matter fiber tractography is most commonly implemented using the principal diffusion direction of the dif...

In this paper, a recently developed fiber tracking algorithm to be used with diffusion tensor (DT) fields acquired via magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is improved and applied to real brain DT-MR images. The method performs satisfactorily in regions where branching and crossing fibers exist and offers the capability of reporting a probability value for the computed tracts. This certainty figure...