title: Human brain diffusion tensor imaging at submillimeter isotropic resolution on a 3Tesla clinical MRI scanner.
abstract: The advantages of high-resolution diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) have been demonstrated in a recent post-mortem human brain study (Miller et al., NeuroImage 2011;57(1):167-181), showing that white matter fiber tracts can be much more accurately detected in data at a submillimeter isotropic resolution. To our knowledge, in vivo human brain DTI at a submillimeter isotropic resolution has not been routinely achieved yet because of the difficulty in simultaneously achieving high resolution and high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in DTI scans. Here we report a 3D multi-slab interleaved EPI acquisition integrated with multiplexed sensitivity encoded (MUSE) reconstruction, to achieve high-quality, high-SNR and submillimeter isotropic resolution (0.85×0.85×0.85mm(3)) in vivo human brain DTI on a 3Tesla clinical MRI scanner. In agreement with the previously reported post-mortem human brain DTI study, our in vivo data show that the structural connectivity networks of human brains can be mapped more accurately and completely with high-resolution DTI as compared with conventional DTI (e.g., 2×2×2mm(3)).
authors.affiliation: Brain Imaging and Analysis Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Hing-Chiu
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.affiliation: Brain Imaging and Analysis Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sundman
authors.affiliation: Groupe d'Imagerie Neurofonctionnelle (GIN) - UMR5296, CNRS, CEA, Université de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France.
authors.forename: Laurent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Petit
authors.affiliation: Brain Imaging and Analysis Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Shayan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Guhaniyogi
authors.affiliation: Brain Imaging and Analysis Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Mei-Lan
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Chu
authors.affiliation: Brain Imaging and Analysis Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Petty
authors.affiliation: Brain Imaging and Analysis Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Allen W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Brain Imaging and Analysis Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA. Electronic address: nankuei.chen@duke.edu.
authors.forename: Nan-kuei
authors.initials: NK
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000379:methods*; D038524:Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000379:methods*; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000033:anatomy & histology