A Comprehensive Quality Assurance Routine for Diffusion MRI

Silvia De Santis¹, Derek K. Jones¹

We propose a simple and easily-implemented routine to perform QA, and will make the analysis software freely available. The routine comprises diffusion-weighted (DW) acquisitions on a phantom along different gradient directions at different b-values; each repetition lasts less than 5 minutes. Linearity of the logarithm of the diffusion signal vs b-value, uniformity of Gmax across the field-of-view, mutual agreement of gradient power across the three logical axes and temporal stability are tested to spot potential issues that can lead to inaccuracy in DTI and tractography studies.