Assessing Cellular Microstructure in Biological Tissues using In Vivo Diffusion-Weighted Magnetic Resonance

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Assessing Cellular Microstructure in Biological Tissues using In Vivo Diffusion-Weighted Magnetic Resonance is written by Julien Valette and published by Frontiers Media SA. It's available with International Standard Book Number or ISBN identification 2889458415 (ISBN 10) and 9782889458417 (ISBN 13).

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and spectroscopy (MRS) techniques have opened new doors for examining biological tissues in vivo. By combining sensitization to diffusion using magnetic field gradients with a variety of imaging and localization schemes, diffusion-weighted MRI and diffusion-weighted MRS allow investigating translational diffusion of endogenous molecules, such as water or metabolites, in biological tissues, most commonly the brain but also other organs such as the prostate. The typical voxel resolution of MRI or MRS is in the millimeter to centimeter range, much lower than the cellular scale. However, as molecules are typically diffusing over just a few µm during the duration of the measurement (the “diffusion time”) and encounter numerous biological membranes at these scales, the average cellular microstructure has a critical influence on the measured diffusion signal. Hence, diffusion-weighted MRI and diffusion-weighted MRS are sensitive to tissue microstructure at a scale well below the nominal imaging resolution. However, the connection between diffusion properties and tissue microstructure remains indirect, so any attempt to quantify microstructure will rely on modeling. The goal of this Research Topic was to gather experts in various acquisition and modeling strategies and show how these approaches, despite their own strengths and weaknesses, can yield unique information about cellular microstructure, and sometimes complement each other.