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Updated: Apr 15, 2026
Diffusion Tensor Magnetic Resonance Imaging in the Analysis of Neurodegenerative Diseases
Published on: July 28, 2013
Co-registration and distortion correction of diffusion and anatomical images based on inverse contrast normalization
Chitresh Bhushan1, Justin P Haldar1, Soyoung Choi2
1Signal and Image Processing Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Abstract:
Diffusion MRI provides quantitative information about microstructural properties which can be useful in neuroimaging studies of the human brain. Echo planar imaging (EPI) sequences, which are frequently used for acquisition of diffusion images, are sensitive to inhomogeneities in the primary magnetic (B0) field that cause localized distortions in the reconstructed images. We describe and evaluate a new method for correction of susceptibility-induced distortion in diffusion images in the absence of an accurate B0 fieldmap. In our method, the distortion field is estimated using a constrained non-rigid registration between an undistorted T1-weighted anatomical image and one of the distorted EPI images from diffusion acquisition. Our registration framework is based on a new approach, INVERSION (Inverse contrast Normalization for VERy Simple registratION), which exploits the inverted contrast relationship between T1- and T2-weighted brain images to define a simple and robust similarity measure. We also describe how INVERSION can be used for rigid alignment of diffusion images and T1-weighted anatomical images. Our approach is evaluated with multiple in vivo datasets acquired with different acquisition parameters. Compared to other methods, INVERSION shows robust and consistent performance in rigid registration and shows improved alignment of diffusion and anatomical images relative to normalized mutual information for non-rigid distortion correction.
Insights
A new method called INVERSION corrects magnetic field distortions in diffusion MRI scans without needing a B0 fieldmap. This technique improves the alignment of diffusion and anatomical images for better brain microstructural analysis.
Area of Science:
- Neuroimaging
- Medical Physics
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Diffusion MRI is crucial for quantitative brain microstructural analysis.
- Echo planar imaging (EPI) is susceptible to magnetic field inhomogeneities, causing image distortions.
- Accurate correction of these distortions is vital for reliable neuroimaging studies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and evaluate a novel method for correcting susceptibility-induced distortions in diffusion MRI data.
- To enable accurate distortion correction without requiring a B0 fieldmap.
- To improve the alignment of diffusion-weighted images with anatomical references.
Main Methods:
- Introduced INVERSION (Inverse contrast Normalization for VERy Simple registratION), a constrained non-rigid registration framework.
- Utilized the inverted contrast relationship between T1- and T2-weighted images for robust similarity measurement.
- Applied INVERSION for both rigid alignment and non-rigid distortion correction of diffusion MRI data.
Main Results:
- INVERSION demonstrated robust and consistent performance in rigid registration of diffusion and anatomical images.
- The method achieved improved alignment of diffusion and anatomical images compared to normalized mutual information for distortion correction.
- Evaluated successfully across multiple in vivo datasets with varying acquisition parameters.
Conclusions:
- INVERSION provides an effective solution for correcting susceptibility-induced distortions in diffusion MRI.
- The method enhances the accuracy of neuroimaging studies by improving image alignment.
- INVERSION offers a valuable tool for researchers studying brain microstructure using diffusion MRI.
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