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Cerebral Blood Flow-Based Resting State Functional Connectivity of the Human Brain using Optical Diffuse Correlation Spectroscopy
Published on: May 27, 2020
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Diffusion-derived intravoxel-incoherent motion anisotropy relates to CSF and blood flow
Paulien H M Voorter1,2, Jacobus F A Jansen1,2,3, Merel M van der Thiel1,2
1Department of Radiology & Nuclear Medicine, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Magnetic Resonance in Medicine
|November 6, 2024
Summary
Multi-b-value diffusion MRI with the IVIM-DTI model can assess cerebral fluid flow and microvascular changes. This technique aids in understanding neurodegeneration and glymphatic clearance in conditions like cerebral small vessel disease.
Area of Science:
- Neuroimaging
- Biophysics
- Medical Physics
Background:
- Assessing cerebral microstructural integrity and fluid dynamics is crucial for understanding neurodegenerative diseases and aging.
- Cerebral small vessel disease (cSVD) affects white matter integrity and is associated with aging.
- Current diffusion MRI methods have limitations in characterizing complex flow dynamics and microvascular architecture.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the feasibility of multi-b-value, multi-directional diffusion MRI for assessing the anisotropy of the cerebral pseudo-diffusion (D*)-tensor.
- To examine the D*-tensor's potential to reflect cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and blood flow.
- To evaluate the D*-tensor's capability to detect microvascular architectural alterations in cSVD and aging.
Main Methods:
- Acquisition of multi-b-value diffusion MRI data in healthy volunteers and patients with cSVD.
- Utilized a physics-informed neural network to estimate intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM)-DTI model parameters, including the pseudo-diffusion (D*)-tensor.
- Derived fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), axial diffusivity (AD), and radial diffusivity (RD) from the D*-tensor; analyzed group differences in normal-appearing white matter.
Main Results:
- D*-anisotropy demonstrated alignment with CSF and arterial blood flow patterns.
- Ventricular analysis revealed highest FA(D*) in the third ventricle, followed by the fourth, and lowest in the lateral ventricles.
- Higher FA(D*) in normal-appearing white matter correlated with cSVD diagnosis and older age, indicating microvascular alterations.
Conclusions:
- Multi-b-value, multi-directional diffusion analysis using the IVIM-DTI model effectively assesses cerebral microstructure and fluid flow.
- This approach provides insights into neurodegeneration, glymphatic waste clearance, and vascular health.
- The technique offers a comprehensive measurement of brain health parameters in a single MRI session.
