Abstract
In this chapter, we cover the basic concepts of diffusion from a non-mathematical perspective. From the random walk of a water molecule to the effect of obstacles on diffusion in biological tissue and the basic principles of configuring a magnetic resonance imaging machine to be sensitive to diffusion phenomena. We cover the important microstructural properties of central nervous system tissue and their impact on the diffusion characteristics of water in biological tissue.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Brown R. A brief account of microscopical observations made in the months of June, July and August, 1827, on the particles contained in the pollen of plants: and on the general existence of active molecules in inorganic bodies. Phil Mag. 1827;4:161–73.
Fick A. Concerns diffusion and concentration gradient. Ann Phys Lpz. 1855;170:59.
Fick A. Über diffusion. Ann Phys. 1855;94:59.
Einstein A. Über die von der molekularkinetischen Theorie der wärme gefordete Bewegung von in ruhenden Flüsigkeiten suspendierten Teilchen. Ann Physik. 1905;4:549–60.
Einstein A. Investigations on the theory of Brownian movement. New York, NY: Dover Publications, Inc; 1926.
Levitan IB, Kaczmarek LK. The neuron: cell and molecular biology. 3rd ed. New York, NY: Oxford University Press; 2002.
Waxman SG, editor. The axon: structure, function and pathophysiology. New York, NY: Oxford University Press; 1995.
Hahn EL. Spin echoes. Phys Rev. 1950;80(4):580–94. doi:10.1103/PhysRev.80.580.
Carr HY, Purcell EM. Effects of diffusion on free precession in nuclear magnetic resonance experiments. Phys Rev. 1954;94(3):630–8. doi:10.1103/PhysRev.94.630.
Stejskal EO, Tanner JE. Spin diffusion measurements: spin echoes in the presence of a time‐dependent field gradient. J Chem Phys. 1965;42(1):288–92. doi:10.1063/1.1695690.
Le Bihan D, Breton E. Imagerie De Diffusion In Vivo Par Résonance Magnétique Nucléaire. Comptes Rendus De Académie Des Sciences De Paris. 1985;301:1109–12.
Koh DM, Collins DJ. Diffusion-weighted MRI in the body: applications and challenges in oncology. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2007;188(6):1622–35.
Lansdown DA. Quantitative diffusion tensor MRI-based fibre tracking of human skeletal muscle. J Appl Physiol. 2007;103(2):673–81.
Le Bihan D, Poupon C, Amadon A, Lethimonnier F. Artefacts and pitfalls in diffusion MRI. J Magn Reson. 2006;24(3):478–88.
Jensen JH, Helpern JA, Ramani A, Lu H, Kaczynski K. Diffusional kurtosis imaging: the quantification of non-gaussian water diffusion by means of magnetic resonance imaging. Magn Reson Med. 2005;53(6):1432–40.
Tournier J, Calamante F, Connelly A. Determination of the appropriate b value and number of gradient directions for high-angular-resolution diffusion-weighted imaging. NMR Biomed. 2013;2013:1099–492.
Alexander DC, Hubbard PL, Hall MG, Moore EA, Ptito M, Parker GJ, et al. Orientationally invariant indices of axon diameter and density from diffusion MRI. Neuroimage. 2010;52(4):1374–89.
Le Bihan D, Breton E, Lallemand D, Aubin ML, Vignaud J, Laval-Jeantet M. Separation of diffusion and perfusion in intravoxel incoherent motion MR imaging. Radiology. 1988;168(2):497–505.
Alexander DC. A general framework for experiment design in diffusion MRI and its application in measuring direct tissue-microstructure features. Magn Reson Med. 2008;60:439–48.
Suggested Reading
Crank J. Mathematics of diffusion. Oxford: Clarendon; 1975.
Basser PJ, Mattiello J, Le Bihan D. Estimation of the effective self-diffusion tensor from the NMR spin echo. J Magn Reson B. 1994;103(3):247–54. doi:10.1006/jmrb.1994.1037.
Le Bihan D, Johansen-Berg H. Diffusion MRI at 25: exploring brain tissue structure and function. Neuroimage. 2012;61(2):324–41. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2011.11.006.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Rowe, M., Siow, B., Alexander, D.C., Ferizi, U., Richardson, S. (2016). Concepts of Diffusion in MRI. In: Van Hecke, W., Emsell, L., Sunaert, S. (eds) Diffusion Tensor Imaging. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-3118-7_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-3118-7_3
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-3117-0
Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-3118-7
eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)