Abstract #3964

Validating Validators: An Analysis of DW-MRI Hardware and Software Phantoms

Paulo Rodrigues¹, Vesna Prckovska¹, W. L.P.M. Pullens², Gustav J. Strijkers³, Anna Vilanova¹, Bart M. ter Haar Romeny¹

¹Biomedical Image Analysis, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, Noord Brabant, Netherlands; ²Maatricht Brain Imaging Center, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Limburg, Netherlands; ³Department of Biomedical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, Noord Brabant, Netherlands

Diffusion Weighted MRI techniques such as Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) and High Angular Resolution Diffusion Imaging (HARDI) are emerging MRI techniques able to depict in-vivo brains connectivity map. There is a wide range of uses of these techniques; however, their application in a clinical setting requires thorough validation. This work aims to validate DTI and HARDI software phantoms, in regions of single and complex fiber bundles, w.r.t to hardware phantom and in-vivo human brain data. Knowledge of the accuracy of synthetic data can improve the evaluation of such algorithms, and advance the employment of DTI and HARDI into clinical environment.