Abstract

Diffusion weighted MRI can measure the random motion of water molecules in biological tissue. These motions are captured using magnetic gradients that dephase the precession of water molecules that move along the direction of the gradient. Dephasings show up as small attenuations in signal intensity.This information can be used in tissues such as muscles, spine, medulla and white matter to measure the ani-sotropy and assess fiber integrity. In this work, a new software for the post-processing of diffusion weighted MRI is presented.The software can read dataseis from a variety of scanners. Diffusion is modeled using ellipsoids that are represented mathematically by means of a tensor, estimated from entry dataset. Various indices such as diffusion tensor eigenvalues, fractional anisotropy, types of anisotropy, mean diffu-sivity, and principal directions are computed. Results are interactively visualized by using axial planes or a three-dimensional approach. The software includes a nerve fiber tracing module. This tool works on PC-based workstations through a graphical user interface or by using the command line