Hamed Y. Mesri1, Dmitry S. Novikov2, Max A. Viergever1, and Alexander Leemans1
1Image Sciences Institute, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands, 2Bernard and Irene Schwartz Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States
A novel algorithm for simulating axon packing in nerve bundles is proposed.
Statistical analysis of the results demonstrates that, in contrast to conventional methods, the proposed method eliminates the bias in the estimated distribution and achieves higher packing densities, while preserving the random nature of the axon packing structure. The resultant tissue models can be used subsequently to study the Brownian motion of water molecules within nerve bundles. With our novel axon packing simulation framework, the effect of axon properties on the derived diffusion-weighted MR signal can be investigated more reliably now.
