Diffusion Phantom Research Articles

Diffusion-Sensitized Ophthalmic Magnetic Resonance Imaging Free of Geometric Distortion at 3.0 and 7.0 T

This study is designed to examine the feasibility of diffusion-sensitized multishot split-echo rapid acquisition with relaxation enhancement (RARE) for diffusion-weighted ophthalmic imaging free of geometric distortions at 3.0 and 7.0 T in healthy volunteers and patients with intraocular masses. A diffusion-sensitized multishot split-echo RARE (ms-RARE) variant is proposed as an alternative imaging strategy for diffusion-weighted imaging. It is compared with standard single-shot echo planar imaging (EPI) and readout-segmented EPI in terms of geometric distortions in a structure phantom as well as in vivo at 3.0 and 7.0 T. To quantify geometric distortions, center of gravity analysis was carried out. Apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) mapping in a diffusion phantom was performed to verify the diffusion sensitization within ms-RARE. An in vivo feasibility study in healthy volunteers (n = 10; mean age, 31 ± 7 years; mean body mass index, 22.6 ± 1.7 kg/m²) was conducted at 3.0 and 7.0 T to evaluate clinical feasibility of ms-RARE. As a precursor to a broader clinical study, patients (n = 6; mean age, 55 ± 12 years; mean body mass index, 27.5 ± 4.7 kg/m²) with an uveal melanoma and/or retinal detachment were examined at 3.0 and 7.0 T. In 1 case, the diseased eye was enucleated as part of the therapy and imaged afterward with magnetic resonance microscopy at 9.4 T. Macrophotography and histological investigation was carried out. For qualitative assessment of the image distortion, 3 independent readers reviewed and scored ms-RARE in vivo images for all subjects in a blinded reading session. Statistical significance in the difference of the scores (a) obtained for the pooled ms-RARE data with b = 0 and 300 s/mm² and (b) for the 3 readers was analyzed using the nonparametric Mann-Whitney test. The assessment of geometric integrity in phantom imaging revealed the ability of ms-RARE to produce distortion-free images. Unlike ms-RARE, modest displacements (2.3 ± 1.4 pixels) from the fast low angle shot imaging reference were observed for readout-segmented EPI, which were aggravated for single-shot EPI (8.3 ± 5.7 pixels). These observations were confirmed in the in vivo feasibility study including distortion-free diffusion-weighted ophthalmic images with a 0.5 × 0.5 × 5 mm³ spatial resolution at 3.0 T and as good as 0.2 × 0.2 × 2 mm³ at 7.0 T. The latter represents a factor of 40 enhancement in spatial resolution versus clinical protocols recently reported for diffusion-weighted imaging of the eye at 1.5 T. Mean ADC values within the vitreous body were (2.91 ± 0.14) × 10⁻³ mm²/s at 3.0 T and (2.93 ± 0.41) × 10⁻³ mm²/s at 7.0 T. Patient data showed severe retinal detachment in the anatomical images. Whereas the tumor remained undetected in T1-weighted and T2-weighted imaging at 3.0/7.0 T, in vivo ADC mapping using ms-RARE revealed the presence of a uveal melanoma with a significant contrast versus the surrounding subretinal hemorrhage. This observation was confirmed by high-resolution ex vivo magnetic resonance microscopy and histology. Qualitative analysis of image distortion in ms-RARE images obtained for all subjects yielded a mean ± SD image quality score of 1.06 ± 0.25 for b = 0 s/mm² and of 1.17 ± 0.49 for b = 300 s/mm². No significant interreader differences were observed for ms-RARE with a diffusion sensitization of b = 0 s/mm² and 300 s/mm². This work demonstrates the capability of diffusion-sensitized ms-RARE to acquire high-contrast, high-spatial resolution, distortion-free images of the eye and the orbit at 3.0 and 7.0 T. Geometric distortions that are observed for EPI-based imaging approaches even at lower field strengths are offset by fast spin-echo-based imaging techniques. The benefits of this improvement can be translated into the assessment of spatial arrangements of the eye segments and their masses with the ultimate goal to provide guidance during diagnostic treatment of ophthalmological diseases.

Study of Inks Used in Biomedical Optics Phantoms: Stability and Ageing

Inks are the most common absorbers added in phantoms for biomedical optics experiments. Due to the small quantities required, it is usual to prepare dilutions in distilled water and to store them for future use. However, they may degrade with time. This work investigates the stability, over a 60-day period, of various types of ink dilutions as a component used in tissue-mimicking phantoms. For this purpose, the optical properties, particularly the absorption coefficient, of a diffusive phantom fabricated with various pre-diluted inks have been determined using time-resolved experiments, for the period of time under investigation. Two commercial India inks were studied, namely Rotring® and Higgins®, as well as a third type, a black ink-jet printer ink (Powertec®). Results suggest that all ink dilutions suffer from ageing, affecting the reproducibility of the optical properties of the phantoms. For the investigated period, this effect was more noticeable for the India inks, but almost negligible for the ink-jet printer ink.

Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium Multisite Assessment of Apparent Diffusion Coefficient z-Axis Variation Assessed with an Ice–Water Phantom

Magnetic resonance diffusion imaging can characterize physiologic characteristics of pediatric brain tumors used to assess therapy response. The purpose of this study was to assess the variability of the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) along z-axis of scanners in the multicenter Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium (PBTC). Ice-water diffusion phantoms for each PBTC site were distributed with a specific diffusion imaging protocol. The phantom was scanned four successive times to 1) confirm water in the tube reached thermal equilibrium and 2) allow for assessment of intra-examination ADC repeatability. ADC profiles across slice positions for each vendor and institution combination were characterized using linear regression modeling with a quadratic fit. Eleven sites collected data with a high degree of compliance to the diffusion protocol for each scanner. The mean ADC value at slice position zero for vendor A was 1.123×10(-3)mm(2)/s, vendor B was 1.0964×10(-3)mm(2)/s, and vendor C was 1.110×10(-3)mm(2)/s. The percentage coefficient of variation across all sites was 0.309% (standard deviation=0.322). The ADC values conformed well to a second-order polynomial along the z-axis, (ie, following a linear model pattern with quadratic fit) for vendor-institution combinations and across vendor-institution combinations as shown in the longitudinal model. Assessment of the variability of diffusion metrics is essential for establishing the validity of using these quantitative metrics in multicenter trials. The low variability in ADC values across vendors and institutions and validates the use of ADC as a quantitative tumor marker in pediatric multicenter trials.

Improving the accuracy of PGSE DTI experiments using the spatial distribution of b matrix

A novel method for improving the accuracy of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is proposed. It takes into account the b matrix spatial variations, which can be easily determined using a simple anisotropic diffusion phantom. In opposite to standard numerical procedure of the b matrix calculation that requires the exact knowledge of amplitudes, shapes and time dependencies of diffusion gradients, the new method, which we call BSD-DTI (B-matrix spatial distribution in DTI), relies on direct measurements of its space-dependent components. The proposed technique was demonstrated on the Bruker Biospec 94/20USR system, using the spin echo diffusion sequence to image an isotropic water phantom and an anisotropic capillary phantom. The accuracy of the diffusion tensor determination was improved by an overall factor of about 8 for the isotropic water phantom.

Determination of reference values for optical properties of liquid phantoms based on Intralipid and India ink.

A multi-center study has been set up to accurately characterize the optical properties of diffusive liquid phantoms based on Intralipid and India ink at near-infrared (NIR) wavelengths. Nine research laboratories from six countries adopting different measurement techniques, instrumental set-ups, and data analysis methods determined at their best the optical properties and relative uncertainties of diffusive dilutions prepared with common samples of the two compounds. By exploiting a suitable statistical model, comprehensive reference values at three NIR wavelengths for the intrinsic absorption coefficient of India ink and the intrinsic reduced scattering coefficient of Intralipid-20% were determined with an uncertainty of about 2% or better, depending on the wavelength considered, and 1%, respectively. Even if in this study we focused on particular batches of India ink and Intralipid, the reference values determined here represent a solid and useful starting point for preparing diffusive liquid phantoms with accurately defined optical properties. Furthermore, due to the ready availability, low cost, long-term stability and batch-to-batch reproducibility of these compounds, they provide a unique fundamental tool for the calibration and performance assessment of diffuse optical spectroscopy instrumentation intended to be used in laboratory or clinical environment. Finally, the collaborative work presented here demonstrates that the accuracy level attained in this work for optical properties of diffusive phantoms is reliable.

A flocking based method for brain tractography

We propose a new method to estimate axonal fiber pathways from Multiple Intra-Voxel Diffusion Orientations. Our method uses the multiple local orientation information for leading stochastic walks of particles. These stochastic particles are modeled with mass and thus they are subject to gravitational and inertial forces. As result, we obtain smooth, filtered and compact trajectory bundles. This gravitational interaction can be seen as a flocking behavior among particles that promotes better and robust axon fiber estimations because they use collective information to move. However, the stochastic walks may generate paths with low support (outliers), generally associated to incorrect brain connections. In order to eliminate the outlier pathways, we propose a filtering procedure based on principal component analysis and spectral clustering. The performance of the proposal is evaluated on Multiple Intra-Voxel Diffusion Orientations from two realistic numeric diffusion phantoms and a physical diffusion phantom. Additionally, we qualitatively demonstrate the performance on in vivo human brain data.

Multiple‐echo diffusion tensor acquisition technique (MEDITATE) on a 3T clinical scanner

This article describes the concepts and implementation of an MRI method, the multiple-echo diffusion tensor acquisition technique (MEDITATE), which is capable of acquiring apparent diffusion tensor maps in two scans on a 3T clinical scanner. In each MEDITATE scan, a set of RF pulses generates multiple echoes, the amplitudes of which are diffusion weighted in both magnitude and direction by a pattern of diffusion gradients. As a result, two scans acquired with different diffusion weighting strengths suffice for accurate estimation of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) parameters. The MEDITATE variation presented here expands previous MEDITATE approaches to adapt to the clinical scanner platform, such as exploiting longitudinal magnetization storage to reduce T2 weighting. Fully segmented multi-shot Cartesian encoding is used for image encoding. MEDITATE was tested on isotropic (agar gel), anisotropic diffusion phantoms (asparagus) and in vivo skeletal muscle in healthy volunteers with cardiac gating. Comparisons of accuracy were performed with standard twice-refocused spin echo (TRSE) DTI in each case and good quantitative agreement was found between diffusion eigenvalues, mean diffusivity and fractional anisotropy derived from TRSE DTI and from the MEDITATE sequence. Orientation patterns were correctly reproduced in both isotropic and anisotropic phantoms, and approximately for in vivo imaging. This illustrates that the MEDITATE method of compressed diffusion encoding is feasible on the clinical scanner platform. With future development and employment of appropriate view-sharing image encoding, this technique may be used in clinical applications requiring time-sensitive acquisition of DTI parameters such as dynamical DTI in muscle.

A phantom for diffusion-weighted MRI (DW-MRI)

To develop tissue-equivalent diffusivity materials and build a spherical diffusion phantom which mimics the conditions typically found in biological tissues. Also, to assess the reproducibility of ADC measurements from a whole-body diffusion protocol. Nickel-doped agarose/sucrose gels were manufactured and used to build a spherical diffusion phantom with tissue-equivalent relaxation and diffusion compartments. The temporal stability of the gels was monitored for a period of 8 weeks and, using the same measurements, the reproducibility of ADC was assessed in a 1.5 Tesla (T) clinical system. The temporal stability of the nickel-doped agarose/sucrose gels diffusion properties was excellent (average coefficient of variation [CV] for ADC in all phantom compartments = 1.27%). The average CV for ADC measurements, excluding the phantom compartments affected by artifacts, was 0.76% showing that the reproducibility of ADC measurements using an EPI DW-MRI protocol is very good. Nickel-doped agarose/sucrose gels can be used as reference materials for MRI diffusion measurements and show excellent short-term stability with respect to ADC. A phantom made of these materials can be invaluable in optimizing DW-MRI protocols, developing novel pulse sequences for DW-MRI, or comparing ADC values among field strengths, vendors, and imaging centers.

Note: Comparison between a prism-based and an acousto-optic tunable filter-based spectrometer for diffusive media

This paper compares two continuously tunable systems for time-resolved spectroscopy of diffusive media based on a supercontinuum laser source. Two approaches for spectral selection are considered relying either on a dispersive prism or on a commercial acoustic-optic tunable filter (AOTF) device. The comparison was performed first in terms of extracted power and spectral response function, then in terms of distortions introduced in the retrieved absorption and scattering spectra. Simulations and experiments on diffusive phantoms confirmed that, besides narrower FWHM in the AOTF bandpass, the prism solution is superior with respect to the distortions produced on the recovered spectra.

Multi‐system repeatability and reproducibility of apparent diffusion coefficient measurement using an ice‐water phantom

To determine quantitative quality control procedures to evaluate technical variability in multi-center measurements of the diffusion coefficient of water as a prerequisite to use of the biomarker apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) in multi-center clinical trials. A uniform data acquisition protocol was developed and shared with 18 participating test sites along with a temperature-controlled diffusion phantom delivered to each site. Usable diffusion weighted imaging data of ice water at five b-values were collected on 35 clinical MRI systems from three vendors at two field strengths (1.5 and 3 Tesla [T]) and analyzed at a central processing site. Standard deviation of bore-center ADCs measured across 35 scanners was <2%; error range: -2% to +5% from literature value. Day-to-day repeatability of the measurements was within 4.5%. Intra-exam repeatability at the phantom center was within 1%. Excluding one outlier, inter-site reproducibility of ADC at magnet isocenter was within 3%, although variability increased for off-center measurements. Significant (>10%) vendor-specific and system-specific spatial nonuniformity ADC bias was detected for the off-center measurement that was consistent with gradient nonlinearity. Standardization of DWI protocol has improved reproducibility of ADC measurements and allowed identifying spatial ADC nonuniformity as a source of error in multi-site clinical studies.

TU‐G‐217A‐03: Validation of Diffusion Spectrum Imaging (DSI)‐Derived Crossing Fiber Angles Using a Novel Phantom and Post‐Processing

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to build diffusion phantoms and employ post‐processing techniques for validating the diffusion spectrum imaging (DSI)‐derived fiber orientation distribution function (ODF) in the crossing regions. Methods: To establish a ground truth, we constructed a phantom with a fixed crossing fiber configuration of 45° and another with 3 crossing fibers at 60°. Phantom construction involved hollow plastic capillaries which were filled with water and wrapped around a plastic plate to form a number of interleaved parallel layers resulting in fibers crossing at the desired angle. We also implemented a technique to de‐convolve the response function of an individual peak from the overall ODF. The technique involves representing a DSI derived ODF with its spherical harmonic coefficients and performing the de‐convolution using the Funk‐ Hecke theorem. Unlike the methodology in which deconvolution is applied to the spherical q‐ball signal by Descoteaux et. al, (2009), our method applies it directly on the ODF derived from DSI.DSI data was acquired on the phantom on a Philips 3.0 T Intera scanner (with SENSE Flex M coil) using spin‐echo echo‐planar imaging (EPI) sequence with b‐value of 6000 and 515 sampling points. Results: Our deconvolution methodology greatly improves the angular resolution of the otherwise un‐resolvable peaks in the ODF. Quantification of a crossing region with 10±10 pixels in the 45° and 60° phantoms resulted in a successful detection with mean ± sd of 44.6°±1.6° and 59.4°±6.8° respectively, while simultaneously sharpening the ODFs in regions containing single fibers. Conclusions: We developed a diffusion phantom with 3 crossing fibers for the first time. Our proposed methodologies significantly improved the angular accuracy of the crossing fibers and are applicable to ODFs obtained from other high angular resolution diffusion imaging such as Q ball imaging.

Novel multisection design of anisotropic diffusion phantoms

Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging provides access to fiber pathways and structural integrity in fibrous tissues such as white matter in the brain. In order to enable better access to the sensitivity of the diffusion indices to the underlying microstructure, it is important to develop artificial model systems that exhibit a well-known structure, on the one hand, but benefit from a reduced complexity on the other hand. In this work, we developed a novel multisection diffusion phantom made of polyethylene fibers tightly wound on an acrylic support. The phantom exhibits three regions with different geometrical configuration of fibers: a region with fibers crossing at right angles, a region with parallel fibers and homogeneous density, and, finally, a region with parallel fibers but with a gradient of fiber density along the axis of symmetry. This gives rise to a gradual change of the degree of anisotropy within the same phantom. In this way, the need to construct several phantoms with different fiber densities is avoided, and one can access different fractional anisotropies in the same experiment under the same physical conditions. The properties of the developed phantom are demonstrated by means of diffusion tensor imaging and diffusion kurtosis imaging. The measurements were performed using a diffusion-weighted spin-echo and a diffusion-weighted stimulated-echo pulse sequence programmed in-house. The influence of the fiber density packing on the diffusion parameters was analyzed. We also demonstrate how the novel phantom can be used for the validation of high angular resolution diffusion imaging data analysis.

Analytic expression of fluorescence ratio detection correlates with depth in multi-spectral sub-surface imaging

Here we derived analytical solutions to diffuse light transport in biological tissue based on spectral deformation of diffused near-infrared measurements. These solutions provide a closed-form mathematical expression which predicts that the depth of a fluorescent molecule distribution is linearly related to the logarithm of the ratio of fluorescence at two different wavelengths. The slope and intercept values of the equation depend on the intrinsic values of absorption and reduced scattering of tissue. This linear behavior occurs if the following two conditions are satisfied: the depth is beyond a few millimeters and the tissue is relatively homogeneous. We present experimental measurements acquired with a broad-beam non-contact multi-spectral fluorescence imaging system using a hemoglobin-containing diffusive phantom. Preliminary results confirm that a significant correlation exists between the predicted depth of a distribution of protoporphyrin IX molecules and the measured ratio of fluorescence at two different wavelengths. These results suggest that depth assessment of fluorescence contrast can be achieved in fluorescence-guided surgery to allow improved intra-operative delineation of tumor margins.

Effect of dependent scattering on the optical properties of Intralipid tissue phantoms

The calibration of optical tissue-simulating phantoms remains an open question in spite of the many techniques proposed for accurate measurements of optical properties. As a consequence, a reference phantom with well known optical properties is still missing. As a first step towards a reference phantom we have recently proposed to use dilutions of Intralipid 20%. In this paper we discuss a matter that is commonly ignored when dilutions are prepared, i.e., the possibility of deviations from the simple linear relationships between the optical properties of the dilution and the Intralipid concentration due to the effects of dependent scattering. The results of an experimental investigation showed that dependent scattering does not affect absorption. As for the reduced scattering coefficient the effect can be described adding a term proportional to the square of the concentration. However, for concentrations of interest for tissue optics deviations from linearity remain within about 2%. The experimental investigation also showed that the microphysical properties of Intralipid are not affected by dilution. These results show the possibility to easily obtain a liquid diffusive phantom whose optical properties are known with error smaller than about 1%. Due to the intrinsic limitations of the different techniques proposed for measuring the optical properties it seems difficult to obtain a similar accuracy for solid phantoms.

Regularization of bending and crossing white matter fibers in MRI Q-ball fields

In diffusion magnetic resonance imaging with high-angular-resolution diffusion imaging, a set of techniques has become available that allows better acquisition and representation of multidirectional diffusion profiles, e.g., in voxels with crossing, branching and kissing fibers. The poor spatial resolution and low signal-to-noise ratio of the data, particularly when acquired under clinical conditions, prevent tractography algorithms from reliably reconstructing complex white matter structures. With cone-beam regularization, an intervoxel smoothing approach has been described, which, in this article, is refined and adapted to fibers with subvoxel bending. By introducing the concept of asymmetric orientation distribution functions (aODFs), we are able to sharpen diffusion profiles of bending fibers and estimate subvoxel curvature. We also propose a deterministic fiber-tracking algorithm that exploits the enhanced resolution of aODFs. The approach is evaluated quantitatively and compared with state-of-the-art noise-suppression techniques in a study with a biological diffusion phantom. Moreover, we present results from an in vivo study in which we demonstrate the method's ability to optimize tractography of bending fiber pathways of optic radiation.

Quantification of accuracy and precision of multi-center DTI measurements: A diffusion phantom and human brain study

The inter-site and intra-site variability of system performance of MRI scanners (due to site-dependent and time-variant variations) can have significant adverse effects on the integration of multi-center DTI data. Measurement errors in accuracy and precision of each acquisition determine both the inter-site and intra-site variability. In this study, multiple scans of an identical isotropic diffusion phantom and of the brain of a traveling human volunteer were acquired at MRI scanners from the same vendor and with similar configurations at three sites. We assessed the feasibility of multi-center DTI studies by direct quantification of accuracy and precision of each dataset. Accuracy was quantified via comparison to carefully constructed gold standard datasets while precision (the within-scan variability) was estimated by wild bootstrap analysis. The results from both the phantom and human data suggest that the inter-site variation in system performance, although relatively small among scanners of the same vendor, significantly affects DTI measurement accuracy and precision and therefore the effectiveness for the integration of multi-center DTI measurements. Our results also highlight the value of a DTI-specific phantom in identifying and quantifying measurement errors due to site-dependent variations in the system performance, and its usefulness for quality assurance/quality control in multi-center DTI studies. In addition, we observed that the within-scan variability of each data acquisition, as assessed by wild bootstrap analysis, is of the same magnitude as the inter-site and intra-site variability. We propose that by weighing datasets based on their variability, as evaluated by wild bootstrap analysis, one can improve the quality of the dataset. This approach will provide a more effective integration of datasets from multi-center DTI studies.

Partial volume effect as a hidden covariate in DTI analyses

During the last decade, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) has been used extensively to investigate microstructural properties of white matter fiber pathways. In many of these DTI-based studies, fiber tractography has been used to infer relationships between bundle-specific mean DTI metrics and measures-of-interest (e.g., when studying diffusion changes related to age, cognitive performance, etc.) or to assess potential differences between populations (e.g., comparing males vs. females, healthy vs. diseased subjects, etc.). As partial volume effects (PVEs) are known to affect tractography and, subsequently, the estimated DTI measures sampled along these reconstructed tracts in an adverse way, it is important to gain insight into potential confounding factors that may modulate this PVE. For instance, for thicker fiber bundles, the contribution of PVE-contaminated voxels to the mean metric for the entire fiber bundle will be smaller, and vice-versa — which means that the extent of PVE-contamination will vary from bundle to bundle. With the growing popularity of tractography-based methods in both fundamental research and clinical applications, it is of paramount importance to examine the presence of PVE-related covariates, such as thickness, orientation, curvature, and shape of a fiber bundle, and to investigate the extent to which these hidden confounds affect diffusion measures. To test the hypothesis that these PVE-related covariates modulate DTI metrics depending on the shape of a bundle, we performed simulations with synthetic diffusion phantoms and analyzed bundle-specific DTI measures of the cingulum and the corpus callosum in 55 healthy subjects. Our results indicate that the estimated bundle-specific mean values of diffusion metrics, including the frequently used fractional anisotropy and mean diffusivity, were indeed modulated by fiber bundle thickness, orientation, and curvature. Correlation analyses between gender and diffusion measures yield different results when volume is included as a covariate. This indicates that incorporating these PVE-related factors in DTI analyses is imperative to disentangle changes in “true microstructural” tissue properties from these hidden covariates.

Denoising of brain DW-MR data by single and multiple diffusion kernels

Diffusion Weighted Magnetic Resonance Imaging is widely used to study the structure ofthe fiber pathways of white matter in the brain. However, the recovered axon orientationscan be prone to error because of the low signal to noise ratio. Spatial regularization canreduce the error, but it must be done carefully so that real spatial information is not removedand false orientations are not introduced. In this paper we investigate the advantagesof applying an anisotropic filter based on single and multiple axon bundle orientation kernels.To this end, we compute local diffusion kernels based on Diffusion Tensor and multiDiffusion Tensor models. We show the benefits of our approach to three different types ofDW-MRI data: synthetic, in vivo human, and acquired from a diffusion phantom.

TH‐D‐201C‐06: Preliminary Performance of a DTI Capillary Phantom in a Quality Assurance Experiment

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the measurement stability of fractional anisotropy (FA) and the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) using a phantom in conjunction with a diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) sequence. Given an appropriate phantom with anisotropic structures procedures could be developed for DTI for monitoring daily quality assurance. Methods and Materials: A doped water‐filled phantom was constructed containing four separate arrays of glass capillaries of varying diameter. A cork phantom holder was constructed for proper and reproducible placement of the phantom within the GE Excite HDx 3.0T MRI scanner. MRI images of the phantom were acquired in fourteen separate scan sessions. To evaluate intra‐session reproducibility of mechanical phantom alignment and slice prescription reproducibility software was used to coregister images from each session and determine displacement. Temperature and signal‐to‐noise measurements of the phantom were made for each scan session. Data acquired from the scan sessions were used to calculate FA and ADC which were evaluated for dependency with respect to phantom temperature and SNR. Results: Mean absolute displacements in alignment were 3.45mm along the S‐I axis 0.74mm along the A‐P axis and 1.70mm along the R‐L axis. Slice prescription was determined to vary by approximately 14.3% of DTI slice volume from session to session. FA and ADC were not significantly dependent on SNR (p&gt;0.45) but were significantly dependent on temperature (p&lt;0.003). After temperature corrections FA and ADC were stable temporally to within &lt;6% and &lt;2% respectively. Conclusion: Using our anisotropic diffusion phantom we determined that daily FA and ADC variations correlate significantly with temperature but not on SNR. After correcting these biases residual FA and ADC are stable to within a few percent.

A Controllably Anisotropic Conductivity or Diffusion Phantom Constructed from Isotropic Layers

Phantoms with controllable and well-defined anisotropy are needed to test methods for imaging electrical anisotropy. We developed and tested a phantom that had properties similar to a homogeneous anisotropic conductive medium. The phantom was constructed with alternate slices of isotropic gel having different conductivities. The degree of anisotropy in the phantom could be varied easily by changing the relative conductivity of the two gels. We tested the stability of several phantoms and found their properties were maintained for approximately 8 h following construction. The phantom has application to electrical impedance tomography, magnetic resonance electrical impedance tomography, EEG and ECG source imaging and diffusion tensor imaging.