Research Abstract

At Brigham and Women's Hospital we discovered and developed a new magnetic resonance (MR)

diffusion imaging technique called Line Scan Diffusion Imaging (LSDI), which can be implemented

on conventional MR hardware. By measuring the directional dependence of diffusion, we have been

able to produce images which show the white matter fiber tracts of the brain in great detail. We have

used fiber mapping to visualize and quantify the development of fiber tracts in neonates and the

destruction of fiber tracts by brain tumors. In human diffusion brain scans we found that, with higher

diffusion weighting than usual, signal attenuation is described better with a biexponential model, rather

than the commonly used monoexponential model. Our initial findings indicate that maps generated

from data of such biexponential fits, are useful for the differentiation and delineation of normal, edematous,

and tumorous tissue without contrast agents and thus, may provide additional information not accessible

with conventional MR contrast agents.