The gradient-echo signal in brain white matter does not only depend on microscopic tissue features such as myelination, but also on the axon orientation distribution with respect to the external magnetic field. Therefore, to map microscopic susceptibility, we need to factor out the confounding effects of fibre crossings and orientation dispersion. This work adapts the Spherical Mean Technique (SMT), recently introduced in diffusion MRI, to estimate the microscopic susceptibility anisotropy in directionally heterogeneous tissue. Moreover, we show that, in combination with diffusion measurements, the proposed technique may be viable in the clinic.
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