Low b-values and limited diffusion directions introduce bias in FA and MD that increases with decreasing voxel volumes.

Due to ECG triggering and breath hold techniques required to compensate for motion of the beating heart and respiration, acquisition times for cardiac diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) are limited. As such, lower b-values and fewer diffusion directions are typically used, together with larger slice thicknesses. This study aims to assess the impact of these changes on fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) in a pineapple phantom. Smaller voxels were found to be more sensitive to changes in b-values and number of diffusion directions.