Estimation of Cell Membrane Permeability and Intracellular Diffusion Coefficient of the Gray Matter in the Normal Human Brain

Toshikazu Imae¹, Hiroyuki Shinohara², Masaki Sekino, Hiroyuki Ohsaki, Shoogo Ueno³, Kazuo Mima¹, Kuni Ohtomo¹

Diffusion-weighted imaging reflects the influence of the intra- and extracellular diffusion coefficient of water and membrane permeability. The purpose of this study is to non-invasively estimate membrane permeability and intracellular diffusion coefficient of normal human gray matter. Membrane permeability and intracellular diffusion coefficient were estimated in three normal volunteers through a comparison of theoretically predicted signals and experiment results using a 1.5 T MRI system. The estimated membrane permeability and intracellular diffusion coefficient were 769 μm and (1.00.0) mm²/s, respectively. The estimated value of membrane permeability was the criterion value for the diagnosis of brain diseases in gray matter.