Abstract #3512

Estimation of Local Tissue Diffusion Anisotropy with Hyperecho Coherence Pathway Selective (HyperCOPS) Diffusion Tensor Imaging

Lawrence R. Frank^1,2, J Michael Tyszka³

¹Radiology, UCSD, La Jolla, CA, USA; ²Radiology, VASDHS, La Jolla, CA, USA; ³Biology, Caltech Brain Imaging Center, Pasadena, CA, USA

The assessment of local diffusion anisotropy using DTI is problematic in regions containing multiple fiber orientations. Recently, this problem has been approached with "multiple scattering" methods that employ multiple q-space encoding gradients between successive refocusing pulses so the net signal is sensitive to local variations diffusion. We present a novel method for imaging of local diffusion anisotropy based on the integration of the multiple scattering concept within the framework of a hyperecho diffusion weighted sequence. We present the basic theory of hyperecho diffusion weighting with COherence Pathway Selection (hyperCOPS) and preliminary results obtained on fixed mouse brains at 11.7T.