Abstract
Improvements in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology have made it possible to measure diffusion of the water molecule, which was difficult to measure in the past. The degree of water diffusion can be obtained from the intensities of diffusion-sensitive MR images (diffusion-weighted image: DWIs). Using DWIs with six dimensions, calculation of the diffusion tensor becomes possible. In this research, we measure the diffusion tensor image (DTI) using a MR microscope (MRM-DTI) with a spatial-resolution of the 100-micron order. A motion-proving magnetic field gradient (MPG) is used in the MRM-DTI. There exists a problem, however, that the result is not uniform according to the direction of the MPG regardless of the uniform phantom due to the coil and power characteristics. Here, we propose a new method of b-value calibration using the isotropic region included in the anisotropic phantom. Using this calibration method, we tried to measure the DTI not only for an isotropic phantom, but also for an anisotropic phantom.
