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MRI quantification of non‐Gaussian water diffusion by kurtosis analysis
Author(s) -
Jensen Jens H.,
Helpern Joseph A.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
nmr in biomedicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.278
H-Index - 114
eISSN - 1099-1492
pISSN - 0952-3480
DOI - 10.1002/nbm.1518
Subject(s) - kurtosis , diffusion mri , diffusion , nuclear magnetic resonance , gaussian , biological system , chemistry , magnetic resonance imaging , physics , mathematics , medicine , radiology , statistics , thermodynamics , computational chemistry , biology
Quantification of non‐Gaussianity for water diffusion in brain by means of diffusional kurtosis imaging (DKI) is reviewed. Diffusional non‐Gaussianity is a consequence of tissue structure that creates diffusion barriers and compartments. The degree of non‐Gaussianity is conveniently quantified by the diffusional kurtosis and derivative metrics, such as the mean, axial, and radial kurtoses. DKI is a diffusion‐weighted MRI technique that allows the diffusional kurtosis to be estimated with clinical scanners using standard diffusion‐weighted pulse sequences and relatively modest acquisition times. DKI is an extension of the widely used diffusion tensor imaging method, but requires the use of at least 3 b‐values and 15 diffusion directions. This review discusses the underlying theory of DKI as well as practical considerations related to data acquisition and post‐processing. It is argued that the diffusional kurtosis is sensitive to diffusional heterogeneity and suggested that DKI may be useful for investigating ischemic stroke and neuropathologies, such as Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.