Background on DTI

Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is a method that provides a description of the diffusion of water through tissue, and can be used to highlight structural changes in tissue tracts. DTI has tremendous implications to brain research, as it makes it possible to trace how fibers are connected in the brain, yielding a map of how the brain is wired. DTI also has diagnostic implications by being able to pinpoint areas where normal water flow is disrupted, providing valuable information about the location of specific lesions.

DTI Processing and Analysis Toolboxes

DTIStudio
DTIStudio is a package for the visualization and processing of diffusion MR data, as well as the tracking of white matter fibers. This software was written by Hiangyi Jiang and Susumu Mori. Software can be requested by email from Dr. Mori.

FDT - FMRIB Diffusion Toolbox
FDT is a software tool for analysis of diffusion weighted images. It performs eddy current correction, models diffusion parameters, fits diffusion tensors, and conducts probabilistic tractography.

Readings on DTI

• Pierpaoli C, Basser PJ. Toward a quantitative assessment of diffusion anisotropy. Magn Reson Med 1996; 36(6):893-906.
• Basser PJ, Pierpaoli C. Microstructural and physiological features of tissues elucidated by quantitative-diffusion-tensor MRI. J Magn Reson B 1996; 111(3):209-219.
• Pruessmann KP, Weiger M, Scheidegger MB, Boesiger P. SENSE: sensitivity encoding for fast MRI. Magn Reson Med 1999; 42(5):952-962.
• Jones DK, Horsfield MA, Simmons A. Optimal strategies for measuring diffusion in anisotropic systems by magnetic resonance imaging. Magn Reson Med 1999; 42(3):515-525.
• Pajevic S, Pierpaoli C. Color schemes to represent the orientation of anisotropic tissues from diffusion tensor data: application to white matter fiber tract mapping in the human brain. Magn Reson Med 1999; 42(3):526-540.